LISA CROSSMAN Macy’s Latin American Fair: A Temple Built on the Anxieties of Inter/Americanism

Résumé Abstract En 1942, en pleine guerre mondiale, le grand magasin In 1942, amidst an international crisis, Macy’s Macy’s organisa à New York une gigantesque foire- Department Store held a large-scale Latin American exposition. À travers une analyse de la conception de Fair in New York City. Through an analysis of the fair’s cette dernière, de son importante exposition artistique design, extensive art exhibition, and its coverage in et de sa couverture dans la presse populaire et les écrits the popular press and contemporaneous art writings, des critiques d’art, cet article explore la façon dont this paper explores the manner in which diplomatic les visées diplomatiques et les inquiétudes des élites aspirations and the cultural, economic, and political américaines au sujet de la culture, de l’économie et anxieties of U.S. elites reinforced stereotypes about de la politique, ont renforcé les stéréotypes au sujet Latin Americans. The fair’s cultural goods were des Latino-américains. Les biens culturels de la foire- used as props in an intentional push for improved exposition ont servi d’accessoires à un resserrement diplomatic bonds, while the event inadvertently cast intentionnel des liens diplomatiques, tandis que cet Latin America as the Other against which the U.S. événement a incidemment fait jouer à l’Amérique expressed its own preoccupations with redefining latine le rôle de l’Autre vis-à-vis duquel les États-Unis “American” identity. ont exprimé leurs propres préoccupations quant à la redéfinition d’une identité « américaine ».

At the start of the Second World War, politicians anomaly nor a complete novelty. But it was one and corporate leaders in the United States were of the largest of such cultural events organized at continuing to assert and redefine the nation’s a department store during this period. presence in the world amidst a global humanitar- Macy’s encouraged New Yorkers to visit ian crisis and the end of the Great Depression. the fair, proclaiming in an advertisement in While some elite factions tried to bolster support the New York Times (Fig. 1), “It is a thrilling, for the Good Neighbour Policy and pondered vital exposition of Latin America today,” which the potential for increased inter-American ties, coincided with the Inter-American Conference others questioned the success of such policies. in Rio de Janeiro and was meant to serve as the In this tense climate, R. H. Macy and Company retailer’s “contribution to Pan-American amity” held a Latin American Fair at its Herald Square (“Display Ad 13–No Title” 1942: 7). An estimated location between January 17 and February 7, 825,479 people attended the fair, and the displays 1942 (Pike 1995: 258). The fair was neither an occupied about 40,000 square feet (3,700 square

60 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) metres) of space (“Latin American Fair Ends” held, and the objects that were sold can be gleaned 1942: 51; “Fair to Aid Trade of Latin America” from an assortment of popular publications, 1941: 16). While the details of the layout of both including the store’s own materials. Among such the fair and its art exhibition are unknown, the constructions as The Temple of Jewels and plazas architectural elements and aesthetic features that of Rio de Janeiro, Macy’s arranged saleable goods shaped the fair’s atmosphere, the events that were that ranged from a cup of maté to a letter written

Fig. 1 “Display Ad 13—No Title,” New York Times, January 16,, 1942, 7.

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 61 by Hernán Cortés in 1524 (“Display Ad 13–No spotlight. They show both evidence of the spread Title” 1942: 7). Macy’s published texts about the of Latin American art beyond the confines of U.S. event, and the Office of the Coordinator of Inter- museums, and the extent to which goods and American Affairs’ (OCIAA) short documentary art from this region were promoted to a middle Pan-American Bazaar confirms that the fair was to upper-middle class audience for the sake of intended to recreate an informative image of the inter-American solidarity. region’s culture and a sampling of products for From the late 1930s through the early 1940s, the entertainment of New York shoppers, while art from around the Latin American region also providing a platform for a series of activities seemed a burgeoning trend of which the OCIAA, designed for visiting foreign diplomats.1 directed by Nelson Rockefeller, was a prominent The fair included an art exhibition that sponsor (Bales 1992: 120, 146; Erb 1982: 74). showcased approximately 400 original works Rockefeller’s participation in the advisory of art from the region, selections of which were committee for Macy’s Latin American Fair, the rotated throughout the duration of the fair event’s timely coincidence with the January 1942 (Macy’s 1942). Macy’s promotional material and Inter-American Conference in Rio de Janeiro, scholars such as art historian George Kubler and the invitation of various diplomats from the touted it as being the most comprehensive region highlight the extent to which the fair was exhibition of modern Latin American art to date, fused with a larger political agenda. While, as a notably showing work not only from Mexico, but corporation, Macy’s was interested in profit, the also from nations in Central and South America Latin American Fair’s symbolic importance as a (Kubler 1943). An overview of the show, gleaned diplomatic gesture is clear. from Macy’s Paintings and Sculpture from Latin Popular reports about the fair emphasized America: The Art Gallery Macy’s Latin American its manifestation of “good will,” framing it with Fair (the principal source available on the exhibi- the “good neighbour” rhetoric, which asserted tion’s contents), reveals that a broad selection of the U.S. government’s commitment to be a better paintings and sculptures were displayed. The neighbour and foster inter-American bonds, a pamphlet includes an inventory of 302 works rhetoric that dominated public discourse about from the exhibition, which accounts for the art Latin America at this time. As the U.S. entered the that arrived before press. Works by artists from war, the fair exemplified the political exploitation Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile composed of commerce and culture as a means to construct the majority of paintings and sculptures docu- inter-American ties. The fair’s representation of mented in the catalogue. In fact, 232 artworks of Latin America offers a glimpse of U.S. political the 302 documented were by artists from one of and commercial preoccupations of the time, these South American nations.2 revealing the government’s attempt to reframe its This exhibition, in conjunction with the fair’s relationship to the south through its emphasis on combination of diplomatic events, entertainment diplomacy and culture. and sale of a diverse selection of merchandise, Macy’s fair encouraged the public to buy art revealed the intersection of culture, politics, and and other material goods from nations in Latin commerce in efforts to advance north-south ties. America, and allowed (albeit less explicitly) for The display and sale of art in major U.S. some elite members of the political and business department stores such as Macy’s, Gimbels, and communities to counter the stereotype of the U.S. Bloomingdale’s was common during the first as a nation devoid of culture with an image of a half of the 20th century (see Whitaker 2006). In nation that actively (and monetarily) supports the fact, Gimbels’ Centennial Exhibit coincided with arts and encourages knowledge of other cultures. Macy’s fair, featuring a display of pre-Columbian Art is a potent symbol of identity that has and colonial art from South America, prominent- been deployed by the state as part of cultural ex- ly including works from Peru (“Show Stresses Art change efforts. Removed from a museum context, of South America” 1942: 16). Located across the the art object’s function as a saleable good is made street from one another, these events positioned explicit, and its inclusion in the fair provided a the Latin American region in the commercial means for the cosmopolitan shopper to learn

62 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) about or even purchase paintings and sculptures Foundations of Inter-American made by Latin American artists, fostering the U.S. Exchanges consumer’s sophistication. The staging of the Latin American Fair in The political and cultural division between the a department store also notably emphasized U.S. and South America was grounded on stereo- a subtext of freedom through consumption. types: the U.S. was renowned for its technological In “Learning to Consume: Early Department modernity, but its art was generally conceived of Stores and the Shaping of the Modern Consumer as obsolete; conversely, the geographical region Culture (1860-1914),” sociologist Rudi Laermans of Latin America was often framed in terms of its establishes how the department store served as a underdevelopment and exotic appeal. The north means to democratize consumerism, giving more was popularly and critically envisioned as the people access to luxury goods and permitting capitalistic, cultural wasteland that Uruguayan women, in particular, access to a leisure space in philosopher, José Enrique Rodó, proclaimed in which they could circulate relatively unrestricted Ariel (1900), in which he starkly contrasted the (Laermans 1993). The Latin American Fair’s culture of Latin America with the “materialistic” design was characterized by opulent spaces still culture of the U.S. (see also Castañeda 2009). shaped by the aesthetics of Orientalism which The south was either championed by modernists had dominated displays in department stores within the framework of “primitivism,” exoticized since the late 19th century in major cities in the in popular imagery and seen as a bastion of sur- U.S., revealing consumerism as a performative realist tendencies in certain instances, or negated gesture that granted a sense of elevated status for less idealized notions of the “primitive.” These through the purchasing of foreign goods (Said misperceptions rested on the limited direct 1979; Laermans 1993; Whitaker 2006). exposure that many U.S. and Latin American The reviews of this art exhibit and others citizens had with each other, as well as from a at the time also demonstrate that some U.S. long history of U.S. imperialistic political and politicians, like cultural institutions and critical economic interventions in Latin America, includ- voices in Latin America, were not looking at ing past representations of Latin America in the each other as equal cultural allies. Despite the United States and such policies as the Monroe more open dialogues that happened between Doctrine, proclaimed by President James Monroe artists from various nationalities, the overall in 1823, which asserted that Europeans were not perceptions of north and south were still mired to intervene in the Americas, and thereby implied in stereotypes. While the fair’s art exhibition the U.S.’s dominance in the hemisphere. was held in a department store, the way that it The showy design of the Macy’s fair and its was discussed in the press indicates the manner Orientalizing nature were premised on certain in which Latin American art on a broader scale modes of displaying consumer goods in general, would continue to be cast in critical dialogue and the region of Latin America in particular, as a relatively homogenous field and repeatedly that were established in the creation of earlier positioned as the north’s “neighbour” and by world’s fairs, Pan-American fairs, and department implication Other in subsequent decades. An store displays. These styles of display perpetuated analysis of the reviews of Macy’s art exhibition stereotypes and an uneven partnership between and major museum exhibitions of art from Latin the consuming north and the developing south. America at this time reveal that the perceived The Pan-American fairs of the late 19th and early diplomatic nature of these shows overshadowed 20th centuries are of particular note as they were the work and often prevented the art from being meant to construct a vision of Pan-Americanism. discussed in popular and critical art writing as In Designing Pan-America: US Architectural more than mere symbols of regional partnership. Visions for the Western Hemisphere, Robert Gonzalez asserts: This Pan-America was tied to epic narratives of an indigenous past, to the discovery of the New World and its independence from

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 63 the Old World, and to the establishment of U.S., as well as their ties to Axis nations, varied. new cities and mission sites throughout a In January of 1942, while Macy’s staged its Latin perceived tropical, virgin land. U.S. citizens American extravaganza, the American republics’ motivated by the desire to foment commerce foreign ministers assembled in Rio de Janeiro and and trade emerged as the movement’s the U.S. government again sought to persuade most committed supporters and shapers South American nations to dissolve economic (Gonzalez 2011: 3; see also Tenorio-Trillo and political partnerships with the Axis countries 1996). (Pike 1995: 257-59). Gonzalez observes, however, that the fairs did not The fair, in part, functioned as a more present the north and the south as equals. The colourful means to demonstrate that the U.S. design favoured the U.S. as the powerful sponsor government and some corporations were com- and embodiment of modern progress, while mitted to supporting these nations’ industries representing Latin America mainly through its and expanding new markets for their goods—of- “raw materials and ‘exotic’ indigenous cultures” fering a carrot, rather than a stick, so to speak. (Gonzalez 2011: 1, 21-22, 47). The fairs are a This strategy aligned with Roosevelt’s general prime example of Orientalism, which is premised policies toward Latin America, in which the U.S. on “uneven exchange” and “exteriority” that maintained its paternalistic position toward the is more reflective of the constructer than the nations of the southern hemisphere but sought to constructed (Said 1979: 12). So, the fairs’ designs gain cooperation through non-militaristic means. inform us of the U.S.’s imperial ambitions for The fair is indicative of the U.S. government’s Latin America, asserting the legitimacy of its efforts to encourage the sale of goods, especially power through its industrial development, geo- those that were handcrafted or novel, from Latin graphical proximity, and claim of shared regional America to replace Asian and European imports traits, such as indigenous heritages. that were difficult to obtain during the war, and Fairs such as the Pan-American Exposition more generally in supporting development in in Buffalo, New York (1901), were motivated the region. Augustine Sedgewick ties together by the U.S. government’s desire to increase the impact that the New Deal’s domestic and hemispheric trade, and were intended to improve foreign policies had in the 1930s in shaping Latin American governments’ perceptions of the the U.S. as a “consumers’ republic” and in its U.S. and to gain the consumer support of U.S. rising international role as an imperial power.4 citizens (Rydell 1984: 128). Beginning in 1933, In particular, the U.S. encouraged the produc- Franklin Delano Roosevelt continued efforts to tion and importation of tin, rubber, and hemp, improve the negative image that the U.S. had cre- in addition to items such as housewares and ated for itself through militaristic and economic handmade goods, pointing out the economic interventions by instituting the Good Neighbour appeal of cheap labour in Latin America. In Policy. Despite Roosevelt’s efforts, most countries the 1930s, more industrialized nations in Latin in Latin America maintained their distrust of America such as Argentina, Brazil and Chile were the U.S., and many even increased their own expanding their production of manufactured nationalistic agendas at this time.3 goods, seeking to reduce their dependency on The political environment in the U.S. in foreign nations through the adoption of import January of 1942 was characterized by a growing substitution industrialization (2012: 50-51, 57-59, unease. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed 61). Sedgewick also notes that beginning in 1939 Pearl Harbor, providing sufficient incentive for the Department of Commerce invited retailers the U.S. to officially enter the Second World War. such as Macy’s to meet with diplomats from Latin While U.S. officials had begun courting nations American nations to create goods that would in Latin America to unite against Germany, Italy, appeal to U.S. markets. and Japan in 1938, by 1942 commercial and Domestically, the fair was also used to entice diplomatic ties were still not severed between shoppers to consume through the introduction of many of these nations and the Axis powers (Pike new products that would carry cultural currency 1995: 257). The extent to which nations in Latin because of their novelty, as affirmed by Macy’s in America were resistant to cooperating with the the fair’s promotional material. The OCIAA’s film

64 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) Pan-American Bazaar, which documents Macy’s expressed a desire to educate the U.S. public fair, stresses the diversity and quality of goods about Latin America through its products, much offered, showing the availability of new merchan- of their merchandise was altered to meet the dise while asserting the benefits of cultivating needs of its market, adapting “authentic” items inter-American ties. Pan-American Bazaar, to appeal to New Yorkers (Macy’s 1942).7 The use along with numerous other short documentaries of this third-world/first-world binary, in which a produced during these years, demonstrates the U.S. corporation cast itself in a paternalistic role government’s interest in garnering domestic toward its neighbours is, of course, not unique public support for increased economic and to this situation. Macy’s statements are a mere diplomatic ties with Latin American nations.5 reinforcement of neocolonial attitudes, an era Such films were part of a much larger network that was characterized by imperialist relation- of inter-American efforts that created an illusion ships between Latin American nations and, of a democratic partnership and a semblance of most notably, the U.S., and Great Britain, which unity (see Crossman 2008). dictated the terms of progress. This period was U.S. officials promoted inter-American followed by a resurgence of nationalist rhetoric relations as an extension of the Good Neighbour and populist regimes (see Chasteen 2011). Policy. Macy’s department store, like the U.S. Macy’s roster of advisory committee mem- government, demonstrated interest in strength- bers further reveals the financial and political ening partnerships within the hemisphere. In interests that motivated the fair’s production the publication Macy’s Latin American Fair, and evidences that commercial and institutional January 17-February 7, 1942, Macy’s informed its agendas overlapped. The committee consisted of audience that two years of planning were put into wealthy collectors, businessmen, and representa- crafting a fair that was intended to both teach its tives from governmental agencies and organiza- customers “how [their] neighbors look and live,” tions such as the Pan-American Union (Macy’s as well as to establish long-lasting trade with Latin 1942). In particular, Dr. Leo S. Rowe, Director America (Macy’s 1942). The company reiterated General of the Pan-American Union, who organ- all the key propagandistic phrases, stating that ized a Latin American exhibition at the Riverside its version of friendship was based on a “free Museum in New York City in 1939 (United and profitable exchange of the products of the States, New York World’s Fair Commission, and hands and hearts of men,” claiming the inherent Riverside Museum, “Foreword”), and John Hay freedom of capitalist pursuits (Macy’s 1942). In Whitney, who worked under Nelson Rockefeller a New York Times article from January of 1942, in the OCIAA (1941-1945), demonstrate that Macy’s further encouraged its capitalist enterprise the fair was composed of figures engaged in by stating that they supported the sale of products a larger economic and political campaign for made by the “nimble fingers belonging to poor Pan-American solidarity. Of course, the terms women” (“Latin American Fair Aids Peasant of this partnership have been disputed and Women” 1942: 14), asserting that the company reflect an array of individual motivations and would provide a livelihood to people struggling understandings of inter-American policy, cultural to survive, and through this claim endorsing a and historical bonds. Still, it is apparent that push for development in the region that would the advisory committee’s members, along with become more pronounced in subsequent decades. Nelson Rockefeller, used the fair as an attempt to For instance, Harry S. Truman proclaimed the create a vision of partnership that was performed need to alleviate poverty in “underdeveloped” through a series of activities and publicity, and nations in his inaugural address in 1949. This cemented with actual economic transactions. term thus defined these nations as inferior to the At the time of the fair in 1942, Rockefeller “developed” nations (see Sachs 2010).6 was the active director of the OCIAA, which The tone of Macy’s text, of course, advo- Roosevelt created in 1940 under the advisement cates a neocolonial relationship with Latin of Rockefeller himself (“Army of Amateurs” 1941: America—the merchant promoting itself as a 1). OCIAA documents attest to the perceived pioneer discovering a new market and becoming importance of culture and education as a means a paternal partner (Macy’s 1942). While Macy’s to support other types of hemispheric bonds

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 65 (United States Government Printing Office and Educational Activities,” 110; Barnet-Sanchez 1947). The agency implemented a large-scale 1993: 168). cultural propaganda campaign that sought to In the U.S., many scholars have recognized promote a positive image of the U.S. throughout the opportunistic political and business impetus Latin America and to educate the U.S. public behind numerous exhibitions of Latin American about the southern region. The OCIAA organ- art, especially those organized by the MoMA. For ized exhibitions and symposia, produced films, example, art historian Shifra Goldman has argued published handbooks and catalogues, and funded that the “proliferation of Latin American art ex- opportunities for specialists to participate in hibits in the U.S.” generally signifies “underlying inter-American exchanges.8 For instance, the political motivations” (Goldman 1994: 317). The group assembled a travelling collection of U.S. involvement of International Business Machines contemporary painting that was shown in ten Corporation (IBM), Rockefeller, and the Pan- major Latin American capitals in 1941. Much American Union in organizing shows during this like Macy’s collection of contemporary art, this era indeed reveals underlying monetary interests. exhibit showcased a broad range of work and During the 1940s, Latin American art was was principally framed in terms of diplomatic promoted through exhibitions in a variety of efforts and as a testament to the nation’s dynamic venues.10 Galleries such as the Corcoran Gallery field of visual arts (“Pictures on Parade” 1941; in Washington D.C. and the Valentine Gallery in Crossman 2008). New York City often showcased the work of Latin Rockefeller’s other associations, including American artists at this time, as occasionally did his position as heir to Standard Oil, which had other museums such as the MoMA. The MoMA holdings in the region, and as the president of played an important role in promoting Mexican the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 1939-1941, art in the United States and also helped coordinate make plain his varied ties to the region and inter- exhibitions for the OCIAA during the Second est in culture. These associations also explain his World War. The display of Latin American art, position on the advisory committee and make however, was not confined to museum and gallery it probable that he had some involvement with exhibits, but extended to other venues such as the fair’s exhibition of painting and sculpture Macy’s that would have attracted a more diverse (Rasmussen 1993: 12). The Rockefellers, includ- audience and encouraged the consumption of ing Nelson, were renowned collectors of art objects produced in Latin America. who understood the power of culture as a form In subsequent decades, after the OCIAA of propaganda that could be used to encourage was dissolved in 1945, private businesses and political and economic agendas.9 politicians continued to see the sponsorship of The OCIAA used a variety of tactics to the arts of regions where they were involved increase support for inter-American cultural as advantageous and, as historian Frederick B. exchange domestically as well. Some of the Pike among other scholars has recognized, the OCIAA’s endeavours were intended for elite U.S. government utilized many of the programs audiences, while others were created for a more begun during the Second World War again during general public. The circulation of Latin American the Cold War under the auspices of the State art within smaller venues was likely meant to Department’s Cultural Division (Pike 1995: 254). promote the concept of solidarity to a wider Other institutions, most notably the Americas audience who had been previously conditioned Society (founded by David Rockefeller), contin- to distrust their “neighbours.” In 1941, a three- ued to support the arts from Latin America, in a part travelling exhibition was sponsored by the sense continuing the efforts of Nelson Rockefeller. OCIAA. It was designed for display in spaces such The legacy of such institutions and the problem of as college galleries and town halls. According to categorizing the art from a heterogeneous region the OCIAA’s documents, the agency developed under a single label have been critiqued at length nearly 200 inter-American educational and art by scholars (Falconi and Rangel 2000; Ramírez exhibitions that circulated through public schools 1992: 60-68). Macy’s fair, like numerous exhibi- in the U.S. between 1940 and 1945 (see “Cultural tions to follow, played up regional cohesion and

66 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) similitude, while centering on the appeal of the region to U.S. consumers through its differences.

Marketing the “Other” Americas: A Tour of the Latin American Fair

Macy’s fair merged the individual cultures of par- ticipating countries into a simplified, marketable version of the region, celebrating a U.S. concep- tion of contemporary Latin American nations through their consumable products. The event functioned as a bridge between political interests and consumer choice at a time when Macy’s status as tastemaker held much sway (Whitaker 2006: 22-24, 146-49). The event would have appealed Fig. 2. to eager post-depression shoppers and cultural “Sales Girls in Mexican enthusiasts, as well as important figures from the Costumes Outside the Temple of Jewels,” nations represented at the fair (Whitaker 2006: Christian Science 22). The event was held at the “world’s largest Monitor, January 19, store” since 1924 in New York City, the cultural 1942, 3. and economic centre of the U.S., symbolizing the fruition of the U.S.’s promise of economic support theatricality and Orientalist tone of the fair, which and increased trade with Mexico and the nations was circulated through popular advertisements of South and Central America (Macy’s 2006). and reports of the event.11 Macy’s Latin American Fair was meant to As Laermans has demonstrated, department woo the public to buy products from the “other” stores were known for their “presentation of Americas, showcasing Latin American food, fash- products against an exotic background in order ion, music, and art. As a means of presenting a to increase their appeal.... They often used images “genuine” image of the region, Macy’s posted fifty- of the Orient to give clothes, chinaware, furniture one photographs of people and places from select or other nouveautés a distinct look” (Laermans nations at the entryway to the fair. Architectural 1993: 89, 93). Designers used colour, glass, and models designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison lighting effects in department stores to craft framed each of the fair’s sections. Some facades, a theatrical environment meant to encourage like the entrance gate and the Temple of Jewels, consumer desire (Leach 1989: 103; see also Rydell were imitations of actual buildings located in 1989: 191-216; Bronner 1989: 217-54). Macy’s Latin America (Fig. 2). Macy’s purported that construction of an environment and organization the entrance gate was modelled after the “Ranch of Latin American-themed events employed these Jose doorway,” located outside Mexico City and strategies, making this region seem both more that The Temple of Jewels was “an exact scale immediate and intriguing. This mode of display replica of the famous Temple of the Warriors also mimics the tourist industry’s tactics of selling in Chichen Itza, Yucatan” (“Display Ad 13–No particular places by emphasizing difference and Title” 1942: 7). The renaming of the store’s model standard methods of ethnographic exhibition that of the Temple of the Warriors as the Temple of utilize objects, photographs, and installations to Jewels attests to the structure’s new function as teach audiences about other cultures, which were a showroom for jewellery, while also revealing popularly used in international expositions. the underlying exoticized tenor of the fair. The The architectural replicas would have photograph of three female employees dressed in encouraged consumers to imagine themselves “Mexican costume,” lounging against the facade as tourists in a foreign land, buying souvenirs to of the Temple of Jewels further emphasizes the cart home with them. Architectural construc-

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 67 tions like the pottery and glassware section’s Macy’s hosted numerous events that em- archways represented more generalized designs phasized the diplomatic importance of the fair, that “authenticated” the goods and provided a including the dedication of each day to one or captivating visual experience. As stated in Macy’s sometimes two countries, which was honoured publications, even the fair’s background colours by a special performance by guests such as were given names like “Inca orange” and “Amazon Carmen Miranda and a visit by a representative jungle green” (Macy’s 1942). While it is unclear from that country. Governmental participation whether people would have encountered the further emphasized the importance of building names of these colours while at the fair, they an actual inter-American political partnership reflect a concerted effort to sell Latin America and each administration’s support of cultural and as an exotic, and therefore more marketable, economic exchange. Some of these proceedings destination.12 Macy’s thus facilitated its custom- also spotlighted foreign dignitaries as honourable ers’ journey to a theme park-like representation guests. In fact, Mrs. Roosevelt appeared at the of Latin America that was supported by foreign preview ceremonies before 600 representatives officials, using architecture and photographs to from across the republics of the Americas to em- validate the adventure. phasize the importance of this message (“Preview Macy’s publicity material and contemporane- Tonight of Latin American Exhibit” 1942: 19). In ous popular reviews were steeped in rhetoric addition, Jack I. Straus, president of Macy’s, used that portrayed the Latin American region as a the fair to promote trade and persuade his guests, land of rich resources and its peoples as “good including national retailers, of Latin America’s neighbours.” Numerous publications on the fair economic potential (“Latin Americans Honored appeared in prominent newspaper and popular at the Fair” 1942: 30). Pan-American Airways magazines during January and February of 1942. and United Fruit Company (which has a long, One such example is a full-page advertisement violent history with Central America (Chapman that was published in the New York Times on 2009)), among other corporations, assisted in January 16, which includes illustrations of the the planning of the “travel bureau,” which was building models that were erected like stage sets meant to encourage tourism (Macy’s 1942). The in the store for the event and a photograph of the variety of events and products would have catered three aforementioned salesgirls, posing outside to consumer interests, securing a greater pool the Temple of Jewels (Fig. 2) (This image also of customers and supporters of inter-American appears in “Girls in Mexican Costumes Outside exchanges (Tanen 1991: 370). the Temple of Jewels” 1942: 3). This particular Even the paintings and sculptures, in this advertisement demonstrates Macy’s objective to context, functioned as cultural commodities show Latin America’s “living culture,” while trying that could shape the buyer’s identity through the to entice potential visitors through the creation symbolic purchasing of a region, and therefore of a theatrical environment that would immerse espousal of a commitment to strengthening inter- the shopper in a simulated experience, or tour, American ties (Wallis 1991). Brian Wallis’s essay of the region (“Display Ad 13–No Title” 1942: 7). “Selling Nations” elucidates the “role of culture in The publicity and sizeable audience that the defining the nation for the natives and foreigners fair received suggest that the event played a role alike” in art festivals and exhibitions during the in shaping and reinforcing the public’s perception 1980s (1991: 85-86). Furthermore, in Wallis’s and expectations of Latin American culture in “Institutions Trust Institutions” he describes how the U.S. Macy’s control over the goods that were corporate-sponsored, temporary exhibitions are included in the fair and their display reinforces characterized by “cautionary exclusion, the fixing an image of Latin America as less powerful in that of stereotypical interpretations, and the develop- the region’s value was premised on the appeal of ment of abstract rather than historically specific its resources to the U.S. consumer. In addition, concepts” (1987: 54). Macy’s fair, like other fairs the public was permitted the opportunity to buy and exhibitions, fixed these artworks within a exotic goods without leaving the country, further frame of national and Pan-American discourse strengthening the consumer’s position of power. that was reinforced through U.S.-sanctioned

68 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) rhetoric that emphasized concepts such as American exhibitions were less overtly displayed “democracy” and “goodwill.” as part of this inter-American dialogue, it still was subjected to the same diplomatic veil. Although little critical attention has been paid to this exhibition, it did in fact exhibit a Macy’s Art Exhibition and the Problem of broad range of artworks from the region, most “Good Will” Rhetoric of which seem to have been created between the 1920s and early 1930s. Works by prominent Macy’s art exhibit was inserted into the store’s artists such as Antonio Berni, Tarsila do Amaral, part-fanciful, part-educational diorama, offering Roberto Burle Marx, and, of course, the Mexican another means by which patrons could get a muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente glimpse of art from various parts of the Americas Orozco were represented. However, some artists and, perhaps, even purchase original artwork that now occupy a prominent position in art from a foreign locale. The art, while displayed historical discourse about this period such as in a separate gallery, was incorporated into the Joaquín Torres-García, Norah Borges, Xul Solar, fair’s larger context. The art gallery’s entrance was Lasar Segall, Emilio Di Cavalcanti and numer- modelled after the facade of the classic-modern ous Cuban vanguards such as Victor Manuel Art Gallery in Caracas, Venezuela, providing or Amelia Pelaéz were not represented (see a simulated experience of viewing these works Crossman 2008: 60-68). In some instances, such of art abroad (Macy’s [Fair] 1942). Besides the omissions may reflect the conservative tendency catalogue’s list of artworks included, and the fact of official taste which perhaps did not favour that government officials from each nation were the avant-garde work of those artists, the lack of responsible for choosing the works submitted to interest by particular artists in sending works to Macy’s, specific curatorial decisions are indeter- be shown in this context, or practical obstacles minate; there are no known photographs that give such as transportation issues. Regardless, the evidence of whether the artworks were arranged exhibit, like the fair, included an extensive as- by region, theme or style. The direct involvement sortment of objects from various nations in Latin of government officials in the curatorial process America that would have provided the viewer maintained the significance of the exhibit as a with an unarticulated glimpse of this region’s product of inter-American exchange in which visual art. The catalogue, for instance, merely lists individual paintings and sculptures served as the represented artists alphabetically, stating the symbols of an alliance. artist’s nation, the title of the work, its medium, The art display’s placement within the fair’s and price. While the exhibition was purported constructed narrative would have shaped the to be the most comprehensive show of art from reception that it received and solidified its func- this region shown in the U.S. to date, the size, tion as a diplomatic tool and consumer good. The breadth, and framing of the exhibition and the sculptures and paintings composed a section of fair’s theatrical backdrop would have eclipsed the fair that the New York Times reported was the possibility of offering visitors a critical “well patronized” (“Chile Honored Today” 1942: introduction. 15). The show in fact received much contempo- The diplomatic significance of the art and raneous publicity in the New York Times, The artists was especially important in the curation New Yorker and Times Magazine. In addition, the of the fair. Maria Martins, for instance, was often specialized art journal Art Digest incorporated recognized not only for her talent as an artist, articles about some of the artists exhibited at but also for being Brazilian and the wife of a Macy’s around the same period. Furthermore, diplomat. She was one of the most frequently critics’ responses to other exhibitions of Latin mentioned Latin American artists in U.S. art American art in the U.S. at this time reveal the journals during the 1940s and three of her works general preoccupation with inter-American were included in the fair. Both Art Digest and cultural exchange in the early 1940s and the Art News published many brief announcements manner in which art was couched within this about the sale and U.S. exhibition of Martins’s narrative, making it clear that even when Latin sculptures. She was an accomplished Brazilian

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 69 sculptor who gained recognition in the U.S., Fig. 3 France, and Brazil. MoMA purchased her sculp- Maria Martins, Samba, Jacaranda, unknown ture Christ and the Metropolitan Museum of Art date, I.B.M. Collection acquired St. Francis in 1942. Her connection to (Art News, January the Surrealists in the U.S. likely began after her 15-31, 1942, 19). show at the Valentine Gallery in 1943 (“Latins in the Modern” 1942: 18; Geis 2012).13 Martins’s Samba Dancer, a figurative work made of the native Brazilian wood jacaranda, was exhibited at the fair, and a reproduction of this sculpture was published in the Art News article “Some Living Artists of Brazil” (Macy’s [Firm], Paintings and Sculptures 1942: 8). In Art News, a photograph of Samba (Fig. 3) was published in an article entitled “Sculptures of the Western Hemisphere” on a page with the title “Skillful Use of Tropical Woods” along with Nicaraguan sculptor Amador Lira’s Woman and Child and Ecuadorian art- ist Jaime Andrade Moscoso’s Walnut Tree (Anonymous, June-July, 1942: 19). The lumping together of these contemporary artworks with others from ancient times and the grouping of them all under the framework of art produced in the “Western Hemisphere” highlights the contemporaneous preoccupation with creating an art of the Americas and establishing a historical premise for such production. The anonymous of the Second World War, and perhaps most text further remarks that contemporary Brazilian prominently, sexual freedom. (2012: 143) art is characterized by “a blend of new European trends with a native colonial base,” implying Geis demonstrates that the dialogue of that the work is both “authentic” and modern. freedom that surrounded Martins’s sculptures Remarks about current diplomatic exchanges extended beyond the superficial association with were intertwined with general reflections on the her diplomat husband and Brazilian nationality art, making it evident that the rise of exhibitions that Macy’s and the popular press emphasized, to of Brazilian art was tied to political and economic its association with avant-garde production. The partnerships. discourse of freedom tied to the avant-garde ran Despite Martins’s success as an artist, special- parallel to the U.S. government’s interest in sup- ized art publications such as Art News never failed porting artists’ freedom to produce art without to mention that her husband was the Brazilian censorship. Yet official discourse emphasized Ambassador to the U.S. (“Sculptures from Brazil” her dual status as artist and diplomatic envoy. 1941: 12). This fact would have been of added Martins’s art was therefore symbolic on several importance to Macy’s, whose fair was already fronts, serving as an icon of cultural exchange playing host to many foreign dignitaries and and diplomacy that was emphasized through her government officials. In an analysis of Martins’s husband’s political ties, while also embodying work years after Macy’s show, Terri Geis writes: something that was touted as the essence or an authentic aspect of Brazil which was captured Maria’s sculpture and its reception by the through the work’s reference to samba and her use surrealists created a dialogue on freedom of native jacaranda. Beyond these associations, from many different perspectives: political her work echoed a desire among some artists liberation from colonialism, freedom to ex- periment with new sculptural form, rebirth for the exploration of freedom and nationality and transformation in the face of the horrors through artisitic experimentation.

70 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) Images of Gerson Bosori’s O Morro, Candido the artist’s work at Macy’s in fact extended his role Portinari’s The Teaching of the Indians, and Jose as “cultural ambassador.” Pancetti’s Pasture were also included in the Art Pachita Crespi, an artist from Costa Rica, News article (“Some Living Artists of Brazil” 1942: is, like Bosori, relatively unheard of today. 19). Portinari and Pancetti also had works that Her painting, Manuelito, which Macy’s titled were exhibited at Macy’s. The brief paragraph Manuelito Costa Rica, depicts one single figure accompanying these images mentions the Pan- within a minimal interior setting (Macy’s [Firm], American Conference in Rio de Janeiro and Paintings and Sculptures 1942: 3). The boy alluded Macy’s exhibition, clearly making a connection to in the title is less stylized than Spilimbergo’s between the two. The captions state that Samba figures, exhibiting a greater degree of naturalism. and Pasture were owned by IBM, O Morro by An article in Art Digest from this time introduced Macy’s, and The Teaching of the Indians by the Crespi as the granddaughter of José María Castro Library of Congress’s Hispanic Foundation in Madriz, a former president of Costa Rica. The Washington, DC. Each of these institutions has author further stated that her work possessed been credited with expanding the exposure of a combination of “native whimsy and Nordic works by Brazilian and other Latin American wit,” an assessment that reflects the tendency of artists to audiences in the United States; at this art writers from this period to emphasize both time, art from South America was beginning to the Latin American origin of this work and its be purchased and exhibited to a larger degree. European heritage (“New York Sees Costa Rica” Other lesser-known Brazilian artists such 1942: 16). as Gerson Bosori, who is virtually unheard of In articles from the early 1940s, Latin today, were also represented in the fair and in the American art was usually described as possessing aforementioned article (Macy’s [Firm], Paintings an innate quality that represented the region as a and Sculptures 1942: 1). Women and children homogenized culture and emphasized geography are depicted in the foreground of his painting O as a key marker of identity. “Native flavour” Morro. The figures are bulky and stylized. The and “national rhythm and swing” are just two favela in the background and the hills beyond examples of phrases that were used to assign its are simplified. The image thematically recalls the representative role as a cultural good from this paintings of two Brazilian artists who are better particular region (“Show IBM’s Latin American known today: Argentine Lino Eneas Spilimbergo’s Prints” 1941: 24). Instead of examining how the painting Arrabal de Buenos Aires, which was works had negotiated the specific social, political, exhibited at Macy’s, and Brazilian Candido economic, and artistic conditions present in each Portinari’s Moro, which was also on display, country at particular times, Latin American art but not for sale (Macy’s [Firm], Paintings and was reduced to symbols of individual nations Sculptures 1942: 12). Such examples represented that were framed by an overarching regionalist figurative works that to some degree incorporated program and political agenda. Such phrases regional themes. emphasize the region as colourful and exotic, The inclusion of Portinari’s painting in the positioning the southern nations as the Other that Macy’s exhibit is of particular note as his work the U.S. government was strategically courting was showcased at MoMA between October 9 and and that the popular public could consume. November 17, 1940. In his critique of MoMA’s Numerous scholars, including Mari Carmen exhibition Portinari of Brazil, Milton Brown Ramírez, have critiqued the problematic con- commented: “With the United States evincing struction and use of the category “Latin American a growing interest, predatory or not, in Latin art,” which assumes varying degrees of similitude, America, we will be hearing a great deal about in relation to its articulation and permutations our southern neighbours. Portinari is the first in various decades. In Ramírez’s seminal article ambassador in what we hope will be a fruitful new “Beyond ‘the Fantastic’: Framing Identity in U.S. cultural relationship” (Brown 1940: 37). Brown’s Exhibitions of Latin American Art” (1992), she statement evidences that contemporaneous art critiques standard exhibition models that have critics reiterated the popular slogans that were been used in the United States to showcase Latin being used to promote Latin American art, while American and Latino art, calling into question

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 71 the stereotypes that are perpetuated by survey identity (Mullin 2001). Interestingly, while politi- exhibitions based on Western tenets, which do cians aspired to expand political and economic not account for the region’s diversity and unique bonds between north and south in the wake of relationship to modernism based on its social, the war, some contemporary artists, on a smaller political, and economic history. She states: scale, were cultivating visions of a distinct art Curatorial practices based on this perspec- of the Americas that distinguished itself from tive [the Euro-American perspective of Europe and offered a reappraisal of national “domination over less materially developed and regional heritage through the adoption, in cultures”], therefore, are not only incapable certain instances, of distilled references to the of viewing the arts of non-First World region’s ancient indigenous arts. Discussions societies without the ethnological lens that among these artists, as well as those espoused by resulted from colonialism, but also tend to cultural institutions and official proclamations, divest these manifestations of the complexity spoke of idealistic agendas that embraced various of their origins and development. These notions of freedom and national and regional practices invariably replicate the us/them identities. In particular, Barnett Newman’s writ- perspective whereby the achievements of ings and Joaquin Torres-García’s formation of the colonized subject are brought up for universalismo constructivo [universal construc- objective scrutiny to determine their degree tivism] exhibit each artist’s exploration of ancient of rationality or authenticity, thereby reduc- indigenous arts, as well as each one’s desire to ing them to derivative manifestations or create an abstract style that could simultaneously variations of already existing tendencies (62). be read as universal and as originating from the Her remark allows a useful vantage point from Americas (either north or south). which to consider Macy’s art exhibition as a Barnett Newman’s creation of a theoretical whole, as well as the individual works that were framework for an “inter-American culture” in a displayed. The individual works, like each detail number of essays similarly reveals the extent of of the fair, functioned as parts of an orchestrated the preoccupation with hemispheric exchange. construction of Latin America as a unified entity Newman contributed such essays as “Escultura that was meant to sell the region’s commercial pre-columbian en piedra” (Pre-Columbian Stone potential and to strengthen diplomatic ties Sculpture) of 1944 to La Revista Belga—a Belgian through a flashy promotion of its culture. In propagandistic journal published in South this context, the identity of the region is further America. In this essay, Newman asserted that the qualified based on the commercial and political large body of pre-Columbian art “should unite all interests of U.S. elites and marketing strategies of the Americas since it is the common heritage that maintain a hierarchical ordering premised of both hemispheres” and that this art should on colonial precedents. Macy’s fair, however, serve as the “moral base for that intercultural equally sought to recast the United States’ own community that is the foundation of permanent identity as a champion of freedom and culture, friendship” (Newman 1990: 63). This sentiment while selling the importance of inter-American was reiterated in U.S. publications in which he alliances to domestic and foreign critics. proposed “a new ‘inter-American’ culture that The potential of indigenous art to serve as a would transcend the divisions of modern politics source or foundation for cultural and “spiritual” and forge a common bond between modern revitalization in the Americas was reinforced individuals” (Anthes 2006: 60). in the U.S. in both the institutional realm of Luis M. Castañeda, in framing his analysis museums and those supported by governments of the exhibition of Olmec art at the Los Angeles and corporate sponsors, as well as by some County Museum of Art, offers a brief examina- collectors and artists. Beginning in the 1920s, in tion of artists’ interest in pre-Columbian objects efforts to shape national identity in the United in the 1940s. He aptly shows how Newman saw States, some individuals began to exhibit and the potential of the remnants of indigenous buy Native American works, upholding them as cultures as symbols of a common heritage, which cultural objects that promoted national heritage was “potentially subversive because it could and were key facets of a collective American unite the people of the Americas in challenging

72 Material Culture Review 79 (Spring 2014) these governments’ authority” (2013: 25). Pre- hemisphere. The consequence of promoting art as Columbian art, the war, and efforts to create a cultural product, as a symbol of another nation, new “American” art acted as unifying platforms is that the exchange inevitably endorses a sense from which some artists, like Newman, worked. of otherness. Macy’s fair did not really show how It is clear in Newman’s writings of the late Mexico, South, and Central Americans lived, but 1930s and 1940s that he too was interested in the created a parody of their culture. The fair manu- moral and aesthetic promise of ancient American factured an image that promoted the cultures of arts. In Newman’s 1944 review, “Adolph Gottlieb,” Latin America as exotic, offering elite visitors he acknowledges the work of contemporary and middle-to upper-middle-class viewers from artists from South America (an interest that the U.S. a sense of privileged empowerment over was likely supported by his preoccupation with Latin Americans. It manufactured stereotypes pre-Columbian art), stating that it is “alright for and generalizations that continued to be perpetu- Europeans and South Americans to function as ated in various cultural forms. Similarly, albeit to modern artists,” while artists from the U.S. are a lesser extreme, the rhetoric attached to Latin not allowed to “escape [from] the little world of American art exhibitions at this time created genre,” meaning that they are forever relegated to an environment that devalued the significance American Scene painting—typified by natural- of the works as unique objects by making them istic scenes of everyday life—that was prevalent emblems of a nation or region, rather than of between the 1920s and early 1940s in the United individual talent. States (Newman 1990: 60). Newman’s statement While the event was clearly designed to makes plain that American artists were also appeal to New York City’s consumers, the fair seeking to liberate themselves from the shackles was also meant to persuade Latin American of outmoded styles and criticism; in this instance, officials of the U.S’s commitment to an inter- clearly seeking a path away from regionalism, and American alliance. Macy’s department store toward a means of embodying “America” beyond offered a popular parallel to the Inter-American its literal representation in art. Newman’s writings conference that was simultaneously being held are emblematic of the formal and conceptual in Rio de Janeiro. The fair’s design was meant preoccupations of a number of artists about what to advertise Latin American products by selling embodied “American” art—a concern that oc- consumers an exotic land to be discovered. curred parallel to the institutional mission, which Inca orange, the Temple of Jewels and artworks was bound to political and economic agendas, to shaped a representation of Latin America as an showcase the art of Latin America and to reshape exotic and developing Other. The fair reiterated the U.S.’s cultural reputation. tropes of the Other that are bound to tourism’s The non-utilitarian function of paintings and commercial enterprise and colonial precedents. sculptures would have enhanced the art objects’ An examination of the fair, however, also reveals claim as signifiers of cultural status at Macy’s Latin that its foundation was fashioned from U.S. elites’ American Fair (Plattner 1998: 482). As nearly all own cultural, economic, and political insecurities, the works in Macy’s were for sale, the art overtly as well as from a desire to redefine the nation’s played the role of commodity—a good that was role in the international arena. being bartered for the supposed well-being of the Notes

1. The OCIAA (originally the Office of the cultural affairs throughout the war. The transfer Coordinator of Economic and Cultural Relations of this responsibility from the State Department between the American Republics) was designed to a separate organization composed mostly of as a temporary organization intended to monitor businessmen caused some contention between the Axis presence in Latin America, counter Nazi the two entities. In 1946, a year after the OCIAA propaganda, and promote solidarity through an was dissolved and the programs transferred back elaborate cultural exchange program. While the to the State Department, many of the programs Office of the Coordinator acted as a separate en- were terminated. tity, it collaborated with the State Department in

Revue de la culture matérielle 79 (printemps 2014) 73 2. A quantitative breakdown of the contents of the 8. The tactic of using culture for foreign policy had show originating from these nations is as follows: previously been employed by U.S. officials in the 58 artworks by 39 Argentine artists; 68 artworks late 1930s as an attempt to strengthen bonds by 20 Brazilian artists; 51 artworks by 29 Chilean with Mexico. As Anna Indych-López has dem- artists; and 54 artworks by 29 Colombian artists. onstrated, a number of large Mexican exhibitions Artists from the following nations were not listed were held at major museums during this period, as having artworks in the fair: Ecuador, Peru, including at the MoMA and the Metropolitan Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Museum of Art in New York City, in an effort to Haiti, Belize and the Dominican Republic. encourage positive diplomatic relations with the 3. Two notable examples are Argentina and Mexico. administration of Lázaro Cárdenas, which had Argentina was notoriously resistant to cooperat- threatened to nationalize Mexican oil reserves ing with the United States. For more information, (Indych-López 2009: 125-58). Culture, in fact, see Tulchin (1990). While less resistant in was an important part of the Good Neighbor certain instances, Mexico nationalized its oil in Policy, as exhibited by the signing of a treaty 1938 under the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas at the inter-American conference in Buenos (1934-1940) much to the chagrin of the U.S. Aires in 1936 that permitted the circulation of government. publications and the promotion of art exhibi- 4. The New Deal (1933-1939) was a domestic tions, in addition to Roosevelt’s establishment program instituted by Roosevelt’s administra- of the State Department’s Cultural Relations tion that promoted economic relief through Division in 1939 and later the OCIAA. For more welfare programs that targeted the worker information, see Pike (1995) and Bales (1992). and reform to programs such as housing and 9. For more information, see Americas Society agriculture. It notably developed the Works (2000), Bales (1992), and Rockefeller (1967). Progress Administration. 10. For a critical account on cultural exchange in 5. A sampling of other films produced by the the 1940s from an Argentine perspective, see Office of Inter-American Affairs in the 1940s: Serviddio (2004). Guadalajara; Mazatlan, 1940s; Mexico City, 11. For more on ethnographic display and World’s 1940s; This is – Ecuador, 1942-1945; Wealth of Fairs see Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (1998). the Andes, 1943; and Gracias Amigos, 1944. 12. For more on the use of colour in state-sponsored 6. For more on the government’s interest in sup- expositions, see Rydell (1984: 131-132, 134, porting efforts to increase the quality of life 136), on the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo in Latin America and thereby decreasing the in 1901. He examines the use of bright colours likelihood of revolution, see Sedgewick (2012: to represent the exotic, primitive, and untamed 50-56). nature, and the use of lighter, more refined 7. Macy’s frequently implied that its fair accurately colours to represent progress. represented the region, occasionally using the 13. Much scholarship has reflected on the problem- word “authentic” in its publications. Such asser- atic nature of the association made between Latin tions as the fair’s design being a “composite of American art and Surrealism. Luis M. Castañeda, a thousand authentic details” combines both a for instance, demonstrates that André Breton’s claim of the “authentic” and the manufactured political vision was bound to an essentialist (Macy’s 1942). vision of Mexico (2009). References

Americas Society. 2000. A Hemispheric Venture: Anonymous. 1942. Sculptures of the Western Thirty-Five Years of Culture at the Americas Hemisphere. Art News (June-July, 1942): 19. Society. New York: Americas Society. Army of Amateurs. 1941. Time. June 9, 1. Anthes, Bill. 2006. “Our Inter-American Bales, Peter Relyea. 1992. Nelson Rockefeller and Consciousness” Barnett Newman and the his Quest for Inter-American Unity. PhD disserta- Primitive Universal. In Native Moderns: American tion, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Indian Painting, 1940-1960, 59-88. Durham: Duke University Press.

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