Interview with Bob and Eileen Murphy visitors to the 1939 New York World Fair.

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.On Jun 1, 2012, at 3:51 AM, marcus jefferies wrote:



Hello Robert

It was great chatting to you the other day at the open studios event. Although it was difficult to engage in a proper conversation at the time I was thrilled to make contact with a direct link to the history of the image I have been creating in a sculptural form, and very pleased you have agreed to be a part of the project.

The artwork you saw in Nancy's photographs is a collaboration between myself and another spike island artist Colin Higginson. When we first decided to work together, our starting point was to gather source material inspired by each others work. Eerily we both came up with the same image of the future city within the Perisphere pavilion at the 39/40 New York World Fair. On reflection, this photograph was relevant to us both as we shared the same interest in past visions of the future, especially the predicted planning of cities in the modernist period of the twentieth century. Looking back at this period we were filled with the contradictory emotion of being nostalgic for a future that never was - this paradox is something we would like to explore further.

If you are wiling, we would like to ask you some questions about your experience at the 1939 World fair with the aim of publishing your recollections on a website that documents the ongoing progress of our collaboration.



• What was the purpose of your trip and where did you travel from?
• What details do you remember of the world fair especially the future city exhibit in the Perisphere?
• What emotions did you feel at the time and what was your overall impression of the event?
• Did the event go on to influence you in any way?
• Did you take home any memorabilia, if so does it still exist? Can you describe it?
• How did you see the future for mankind developing at that time and how do you see the future now?

Would it be ok to send me copies of any photographs you have of yourself at the word fair, or if not at the event you at that age, and a photo of you now. I understand if you don't want to release private images.

Thank you for being a part of this project and look forward to hearing from you soon

Best Wishes

Marcus Jefferies.

Hi Marcus!



Pardon the significant delay in this response.

My recollections are not extensive, but to follow are responses to your questions:

1. In the summer of 1940 we traveled by personally owned auto from Indianapolis, Indiana to New York City to see the New York World's Fair.  It was an approximate 1800 mile round trip.  Indianapolis is the capitol of Indiana,located in America's midwest.  It then had a population of 300,000.  We stayed with an aunt and uncle who were then living in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

2. The trylon and perisphere are memorable.  Inside was a General Motors depiction of highways of the future.  Beginning in the administration of President Eisenhower those depictions became reality as the
federal  interstate highway system was commenced  in the 1950s.  As I recall, visitors looked down at the maze of highways, some elevated, with exits and entry points.  It was quite dazzling.

3.  The New York World's Fair was a sensation for this 14 year old, as was the city itself.  The Hudson River, the skyscrapers, the crowds of people at the Fair and in the city were striking.  We had attended
the Chicago World's Fair in about 1933, so this was my second world's fair.  Neither in 1933 or in 1940 did I have any anticipation that beginning in 1953 thru 1986 I would live and work in both the New York City
and Chicago metropolitan areas.

4. In terms of influencing me, the Fair and the exposure to New York City gave me confidence that traveling was fun and enlightening. I retain that confidence.

5. The only recalled souvenirs from the New York Fair were varied color plastic napkin rings in the shape of the trylon and perisphere.  We used them for years in our home.  We do not have them now.

6.  In 1940, just 22 years after the conclusion of World War I, there was no anticipation on my part that the United States would be involved in another foreign war.  The attack on Pearl Harbor in December,
1941 brought the United States into the conflict.  WW II concluded in the summer of 1945.  It was the power and might of America, along with its allies, that successfully concluded an horrific war.

7. Concerning the future,  I am always hopeful that the women and men of our universe will follow their best instincts and live productively and peacefully.

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We have no photos from the NYC Fair.  I prefer to not furnish a current photo.

Best wishes for success with this project.

Robert O. Murphy, Sr.

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Hi Nancy's mum



I am the artist who spoke briefly to your husband a few weeks ago about the 1939 New York World Fair.

In a fleeting conversation with Nancy in the corridor at our studios she mentioned that you might also have some memories of the  N Y world fair. I would love to hear your recollections of the event and the spirit of the time. I have sent Robert an email outlining our project and some questions relating to the event -would you consider writing something, based on these questions, to add to our project archive?

Many thanks 

Best wishes

Marcus.

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Marcus, I am not sure that I can add much to your already gathered information.  I went to Wikipedia to revive my childhood memory.  I am sure that you have surfed the net for info.  I will be 82 in August.  A very healthy, active 82.  I had a wonderful yoga class this a.m.  I was born in 1930 soooo I was about 9 when I attend the World's Fair with an aunt.  My clearest memories are similar to those of many other people.  I remember the GM Exhibit.  I sat in a moving chair and entered a big dark room.  There before my eyes was the future.  The grand highway system of America that was to come in the future.  The automobiles and the roads that would forever change our lives as railroads had done before.  It was like a fairy land.  I had no idea that I was looking at the birth of the new society that I would grow up in and live in.  Things changed and changed fast.  Not nearly as fast as they are changing today but fast.  The other exhibit that I remember is also one that is always highlighted,  Borden's Elsie the cow with its mechanical milking machine.  I was a city kid, born in Brooklyn, NY, a short train ride from Time Square and Broadway  and an even shorter ride on the trolley to the famous amusement park, Coney Island by the Atlantic Shore.  I was no stranger to crowds so I felt at home. 



This dawning of a new mobile society and my background of feeling at home in the city, I believe has effected my life tremendously and, of course, the lives of my children.  I am always at home in different cities of the world.   I was raised at a time when people seemed to have very few fears.  We did not lock our doors. We knew our neighbors.  When I was 12, I took the subway to the city, NYC, to see a movie plus a stage show and have lunch with some of my friends.  I remember that we had a favorite Chinese restaurant that we ate at.  There were white tablecloths, a waiter in a dark suit and special small teacups and almond cookies for dessert.  It was .55!   Yes, that was the beginning of feeling really grownup.  You can sense the way our world changed at that time.

I was not aware of the deeper winds of war.  Our news was less pervasive then.  There was a greater change waiting in the wings.   During the war, we moved out of the city.  Not because of the war but because my mother liked the country.  We lived 40 miles north of NYC.   As Wikipedia indicted with all the positive uplift of the idea of the Fair on the heels of the Depression, there were closings of some of the pavilions, like the Polish pavilion.  The signs were becoming apparent.  There were cracks in the glass hopes of peoples of the world coming together.  The fair, as you know, highlighted commerce and the acquisitive nature of humans.  Perhaps our wars are an extreme example of that nature.  As Wikipedia pointed out there were those who wanted to highlight science and learning instead.

Any time people or countries come together in a cooperative effort it is an advance.  It gives us hope.  I suppose the trylon and the perisphere are symbols of cooperation, a coming together, a hope.  That is something that we need more than GM cars or nanotechnology.

Hope that this helps.  I enjoyed touring your site.  You seem to have at your core a very disciplined nature blended with new ways of looking and perceiving.  I sensed almost a tendency toward mischief.

Eileen