Shanghai Daily news

The Crystal Palace in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Atomium Pavilion in Brussels - these landmarks of past World Expos are all massive signature structures representing technological advances and the latest in architectural engineering.
But Expos are not only about technology, and over the years masterpieces of art that symbolize the times and set trends have been unveiled at expositions.
The same is expected at the World Expo Shanghai 2010, but it's too soon to say what will be in store. Art and culture, however, have become major component of Expos - from works of the masters to provocative, cutting-edge art of all kinds.
Picasso's "Guernica," Rodin's "The Thinker," Manet's "The Fifer" and "The Execution of Emperor Maximillion" - and even the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty - all appeared at World Expos.
Manet's masterpieces, however, were not officially exhibited: They were displayed by the artist himself in a defiant private show in front of the Expo venue in Paris in 1867.
The current World Expo tour exhibition, which opened last month in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, introduced a new exhibit - a copy of the Picasso's mural "Guernica." It represents the horror of the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.
The mural, inspired by the bombing on April 28, 1937, debuted at the Paris World's Fair that year in the Spanish Pavilion. Picasso had been commissioned to paint the centerpiece for the pavilion and had another subject in mind - then he learned of the Guernica bombing in which 1,600 civilians were killed or injured.
Art, however, had a place in the very first World Expo in London in 1851. Statues - but no paintings - were exhibited, along with textiles, machinery and industrial products.
At the next Expo in Paris, however, the host city built an art pavilion, exhibiting more than 5,000 works by 2,054 artists from 29 countries and regions. This raised art to a much more prominent level in World Expos.
Not only did the masterpieces in the exhibition halls attract large crowds, but exhibitions held by artists themselves near the site also enjoyed a favorable "Expo effect."
The French realist/impressionist Edouard Manet, known for his unconventional treatment of traditional subjects, was not favored by Expo organizers, so his works were not exhibited. But he defiantly held a personal exhibit right in front of the venue of 1867 Paris Expo, displaying "The Fifer" and "The Execution of Emperor Maximilian." They are regarded as classics in art history.
The World Expo 1900 in Paris, where talking films were first introduced and where the escalator made its debut, built the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais especially for art. Rodin's "The Thinker" was unveiled.
The Petit Palais was especially for paintings and statues, and one venue of the Expo, Gare d'Orsay, has now become the Orsay Museum, one of the world's most famous art galleries.
The United States' Statue of Liberty too is linked with an Expo. The French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi had designed the statue with assistance from the engineer Gustave Eiffel - designer of Eiffel Tower.
Bartholdi had planned to present the statue of "Lady Liberty" to the United States on July 4, 1876, the centennial of American independence, but he got a late start and encountered delays.
However, by that time the right arm and torch were completed. That part of the statue was displayed in 1876 at the World Expo in Philadelphia where visitors were charged 50 US cents to climb the ladder to the torch balcony.
At the World Expo 1962 in Seattle, the organizers set up an "art world." Though the Space Needle was the center of the attention, the art exhibition with the masterpieces from 61 museums worldwide drew raves. They included paintings and statues by Michelangelo, Titian and Rembrandt as well as ancient Oriental art.
Over the years, World Expos have continued to highlight art.
At Aichi Expo 2005 in Japan, the UK Pavilion exhibited eight contemporary artworks concerning the environment. They were displayed in an English-style garden, representing the concept that the art originates from nature and nature inspires art.
The Wonder Circus Electric Power Pavilion in Aichi celebrated children's art. Drawings by children from all over the world covered the walls. The colorful, imaginative and vital works attracted great attention.
When art became an essential part of World Expos, some critical art experts said that art belongs to museums, not popular Expos, and complained about the quality of much of the art at Expos. Others, of course, welcomed the wider exposure that Expos offer the art world and said art does not just belong to museums.
Today art is firmly entrenched as an essential component of all Expos and nations view their art as an intrinsic part of their culture, part of the image they project at World Expos.