Wright Auction

“In doing an exhibition,” Charles Eames noted, “one deliberately tries to let fun out of the bag. The catch is that it can’t be any old fun but it must be a very special brand…The fun must follow all of the rules of the concept involved.” Of the works and ideas that came from the decades-long relationship between Eames and IBM, the 1964 World's Fair Pavilion was certainly one of the most elaborate undertakings. As historic works of both design and early computer history, the Eames-designed displays and kiosks were made with a specific function in mind: to introduce the public to new computing technologies in a way that would be accessible, and, of course, fun. 

Working with Eero Saarinen, Eames devised deliberately "un-architectural" kiosks, taking inspiration from structures that would be familiar and inviting to a mass audience: namely, carousels and hometown bandstands. Each of the festive tents housed attractions that would engage guests in the world of newly emergent computing technology: computer-controlled puppet shows, typewriter demonstrations, and a “probability” machine which would repeatedly displace 30,000 plastic balls in a random manner and each time reveal a classic bell curve.

Part of one such kiosk, this illustrated panel showcases an enlargement of a computer processor. Almost surely created with an awareness of the oversized Pop Art of Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, this much-larger-than-life image presents the inner workings of a computer as fun and tactile, almost like toys. This ingenious presentation suggests that the intricacies of a circuit board can not only be seen, but understood by the average citizen. As the Eames Office puts it, "Every aspect of the IBM pavilion emphasized the ways in which computers could be an integral, unthreatening part of our future." 

Watch the Eames Office's “ souvenir” film from 1964,
IBM at the Fair