World Exhibitions and their Legacy

What I found most interesting in the Walter reading is his discussion of world exhibitions. Walter claims that “world exhibitions are the places of pilgrimage to the commodity fetish” (7). This may be true, but such a statement (and his later discussion) seems to degrade world exhibitions to something with no more value than a department store displaying its latest and greatest merchandise. My impression of world exhibitions—or at least their legacy—has been of a place where countries, under the pretense of impressing each other, present their latest and greatest technology.

When I think of the World Exhibitions, I don’t think of shawls or the “[glorification] of the exchange value of a commodity” (7), I think of Paxton’s Crystal Palace in 1851 demonstrating the new uses of glass and wrought iron. I think of the Eiffel Tower demonstrating unprecedented height. Overall, I think of grand demonstrations of technology that are meant to show the world the future of what is possible.

However, I concede that I have never been to a World’s Exhibition. It may very well be that when the common man found themselves walking around the Crystal Palace, maybe the smells of perfume drew more attraction than the glory of a new light and open architectural framework. Ultimately what I wonder is: are World Exhibitions really less about technology and more about commodity, or is the technology aspect simply what finds itself worthy of remembrance due to its lasting influence?