"Life Of An American Ruin: Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion" Opens in Brooklyn

September 13, 2016 by Tim Mikulski

Kodachrome of the New York State Pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair (taken in 1965).

photo by: ElectroSpark archives/Steve Fasnacht

In August, the Queens Museum hosted a month-long exhibition about the New York State Pavilion Ideas Competition we held earlier this year, but now the Pavilion is getting the spotlight again, in Brooklyn.

From September 29-January 15, "Life of an American Ruin: Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion" will be open to the public at The City Reliquary Museum (opening reception on October 1). According to Untapped Cities, this ambitious project "will feature a number of displays, including archival images from Bill Cotter of worldsfairphotos.com, memorabilia from The Museum of Interesting Things, and photographs by Phil Buehler, Marco Catini, and Robert Fein."

Further, the exhibit asks an important question about balancing reinvention with restoration:

"Strolling through the exhibition, visitors will get the opportunity to see the structure during its heyday at the World’s Fair, as well as in its present, ruined state. While vintage photos do exist online, the exhibition specifically asks viewers to consider the importance of ruins in the modern age, and whether or not an architectural icon should be reinvented to fit in the current cultural landscape."

Visit The City Reliquary Museum for more information about the exhibit and details about the October 1 opening reception and film screening of "Modern Ruin." Also, check out Untapped Cities for their coverage of the exhibit.


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