EXPO and the CR

Osaka 1970

The curtain came down on the greatest Czechoslovak successes at world expositions with our participation at the world exposition in Osaka Japan in 1970.

Miroslav Galuška was again appointed the Commissioner General of the Czechoslovak participation. The pavilion was planned by architects Aleš Janeček, Vladimír Palla and Viktor Rudiš. The authors of the exposition schedule were Jan Skácel and Adolf Kroupa. The pavilion was constructed along the horizontal perspective. The dominant element was the roof reminiscent of a pergola with a significant overhang over the glass covering of the building. Our pavilion was one of three best pavilions that were awarded with the prize of the Japanese Institute of Architecture.

The exposition content was based on three materials: glass, metal and wood. Passing through all the basic thematic parts of the exposition was the famous "River of Life" by S. Libenský and J. Brychtová. It is of interest that Stanislav Libenský expressed his opinion to the occupation of Czechoslovakia with the imprint of hobnailed boots in one of the blocks of the "River of Life". The exhibit, however, had to be altered prior to installation.

Also worth mentioning are the works of other artists – a collection of glass collages by Jiří Kolář, "The Treat of War" by Vladislav Janoušek, unofficially titled "Entrance of the Army" and the window by Čestmír Kafka. The Laterna Magika was once again present in Osaka.

In Osaka the visitor numbers to the Czechoslovak pavilion exceeded those of Montreal. The pavilion was visited by one in every six visitors to the world exposition. In total 10.5 million people saw the Czech exhibit.

Source: World Expositions – From London 1851 to Hannover 2000. Jaroslav Halada and Milan Hlavačka. Published by Libri, 2000.

backtop

print