Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair

Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair places decorative arts from Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection in dialogue with 20 innovative data visualizations that W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) created for the 1900 Paris World’s Fair to explore how design can both reveal and mask dynamics of power and equity.

Forty-seven countries participated in the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, each attempting to demonstrate to a global audience its cultural and economic progress through carefully crafted installations of the latest in art, imported materials, and cutting-edge innovations. For the Exhibit of American Negroes, Du Bois and his Atlanta University students made 63 hand-drawn diagrams that used shape, line, and color to showcase the success Black Americans had achieved despite facing pervasive racism in the United States and the global community. The data visualizations were created on presentation cardboard and conceived for a temporary installation at the fair. Given their fragile nature, the works will be rotated during the course of the exhibition.

This exhibition highlights these groundbreaking data visualizations, on loan from the Library of Congress, and, for the first time, will bring them into dialogue with the manufacturers and decorative arts also on display at the fair. Examples by Sèvres, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Emile Gallé illuminate how national styles were crafted; these examples also prompt a continued investigation of what and who defines a nation. Works by Carlo Bugatti, Adolf Loos, and Henry van de Velde call for deeper exploration of the imperial fantasies permeating modern design at the turn of the century.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

A hand-drawn diagram titled [Assessed valuation of of all taxable property owned by Georgia Negroes.] — Data Visualization, “Assessed valuation of all taxable property owned by Georgia Negroes.”, 1900; Designed by W. E. B. Du Bois (American, 1868–1963) and students of Atlanta University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA); Ink and watercolor on board; 71 × 56 cm (27 15/16 × 22 1/16 in.); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A hand-drawn diagram titled [Land owned by Negroes in Georgia, U.S.A. 1870–1900.] — Data Visualization, “Land owned by Negroes in Georgia, U.S.A. 1870–1900.”, 1900; Designed by W. E. B. Du Bois (American, 1868–1963) and students of Atlanta University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA); Ink and watercolor on board; 71 × 56 cm (27 15/16 × 22 1/16 in.); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A hand-drawn diagram titled [Income and expenditure of 150 Negro families in Atlanta, Ga., U.S.A] featuring a series of bar graphs. — Data Visualization, “Income and expenditure of 150 Negro families in Atlanta, Ga., U.S.A.”, 1900; Designed by W. E. B. Du Bois (American, 1868–1963) and students of Atlanta University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA); Ink and watercolor on board; 56 × 71 cm (22 1/16 × 27 15/16 in.); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A hand-drawn diagram titled [City and rural population. 1890.] showing a red spiral line with a large number in center. — Data Visualization, “City and rural population. 1890.”, 1900; Designed by W. E. B. Du Bois (American, 1868–1963) and students of Atlanta University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA); Ink and watercolor on board; 71 × 56 cm (27 15/16 × 22 1/16 in.); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A hand-drawn diagram titled [The Georgia Negro. A Social Study] maps the 400-year-history of the Atlantic slave trade. — “The Georgia Negro. A social study,” 1900; Designed by W. E. B. Du Bois (American, 1868–1963) and students of Atlanta University; Ink and watercolor on board; 71 × 56 cm (27 15/16 × 22 1/16 in.); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A vase with a shiny green glaze — Vase, ca 1900; Adrien Pierre Dalpayrat (French, 1844–1910); Glazed earthenware; H × diam.: 24.4 × 27 cm (9 5/8 × 10 5/8 in.); Museum purchase from Walter R. Scholz Memorial and Decorative Arts Association Acquisition Funds, 1998-22-1; Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution

A collection of five burnt orange vases, each with unique ornamental designs in red, blue, and yellow. — Garniture Set, 1889; Manufactured by The Rozenburg Pottery and Porcelain Factory (The Hague, Netherlands); Designed by Samuel Schellink (Dutch, 1841–1930); Glazed earthenware; Gift of Justin G. Schiller, 1992-100-1/5; Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution

A poster titled [TROPON. L'aliment le plus concentré] with swirling lines in bright yellow, orange and purple. — Poster, *Tropon est l’aliment le plus concentré* (Tropon, the most concentrated food supplement), 1898; Designed by Henry van de Velde (Belgian, 1863–1957) for Tropon Werke Company (Germany); Printed by Hollerbaum & Schmidt (Berlin, Germany); Lithograph on wove paper; 111.8 × 77.5 cm (44 × 30 1/2 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lee S. Ainslie III, Marilyn Friedman, and Nancy Marks; General Acquisitions Endowment; Drawings & Prints Council Fund, 2007-2-1; Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution

A gold buckle featuring swirling lines, a large opal stone in center, and accented with pearl and garnet . — Buckle, ca. 1900; Design attributed to Edward Colonna (German, 1862–1948); Retailed by L’Art Nouveau (Paris, France); Gold, opal, pearl, garnet; H × W × D: 8 × 6 × 2 cm (3 1/8 × 2 3/8 × 13/16 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maxime Hermanos, 1967-88-3; Photo: Dennis Cowley © Smithsonian Institution

A porcelain figurine of a person with their head tilted and their body gracefully posed wearing a long, flowing robe. — Dancer, from the table centerpiece The Scarf Dance, ca. 1900; Manufactured by Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; Modelled by Agathon Léonard (Belgian, active France, 1841–1923); Biscuit; H × W × D: 46 × 24 × 22 cm (18 1/8 × 9 7/16 × 8 11/16 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Alexander, 1910-41-1; Photo: Ellen McDermott © Smithsonian Institution

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair was curated by Devon Zimmerman, associate curator of modern and contemporary art at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, in consultation with Lanisa Kitchiner, chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress, and with support from Yao-Fen You, senior curator and head of product design and decorative arts at Cooper Hewitt, and Christina De Léon, associate curator of Latino Design at Cooper Hewitt.

Exhibition design and graphic design by Polymode.

SUPPORT

Deconstructing Power: W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair is made possible with major support from The Hearthland Foundation and Denise Littlefield Sobel. Additional support is provided by the Ehrenkranz Fund and The Felicia Fund.

RELATED EXHIBITION

Furniture, metalwork, ceramics, drawings, and photographs transform the second floor of Cooper Hewitt into early-20th-century Paris in Deconstructing Power and the related exhibition, Hector Guimard: How Paris Got Its Curves. Concurrently on view, Hector Guimard invites a new understanding of France’s most famous art nouveau architect, Hector Guimard (1867–1942). Learn more.