Elitismo culturale e pensiero moderno. I padiglioni d’Ungheria alla VI e VII Triennale di Milano

Abstract

Between 1935 and 1940, the Hungarian pavilions at the VI. and VII. Milan Triennale served as catalysts for a modern visual language, which contemporarely was represented by the organic architecture of Alvar Aalto, the rational modernism of Le Corbusier, and the razionalismo of Giuseppe Pagano. The curatorial projects and ideas advanced by the Hungarian curator Tibor Gerevich represented an attempt to convey a message of modernity based on the concept of national-popular self-determination. The use of mise en abyme and Kleinarchitektur, through the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, served to convey a message of progress, which presented itself as a tool of political and cultural propaganda. The Hungarianpavilions at the 6th and 7th Milan Triennale are invaluable proof that a modern visual language, by compromising with a political discourse, can alter the message to a contemporary audience. For this reason, this study will highlight how Tibor Gerevich’s curatorial projects represented a contemporary language in which modern thoughts were strongly influenced by a rejection of modernity itself.