Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung 1911

Curator: Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. Looking at this poster for the "Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung Dresden" from 1911 by Franz von Stuck… the first thing that hits me is the All-Seeing Eye. Editor: Whoa, you're right. I immediately feel like I'm being watched, judged even! Is this about the state monitoring our health habits? The eye is gigantic, with this crazy radiating pattern—it dominates the whole composition. The rest of it feels... classical, almost subdued. Curator: It's interesting you say that. I mean, an international hygiene exhibition in the early 20th century was a very particular product of its time, fueled by anxieties about public health, social control, and yes, the responsibility of the state. But you're right, von Stuck was known for symbolism, so there is more here than meets the eye. Editor: He knew how to nail those vibes then. I mean, Art Nouveau is so intertwined with decadence. But, I guess that exhibition would have presented science as a rational solution, fighting germs. What an odd match. And still, I keep wondering, is it a godlike eye or an Orwellian one? Curator: Maybe it's both, coexisting, feeding off each other. What if it’s an ambivalent symbol of "progress"? It could signal a new, enlightened, and also rather controlled era for public health, which, given the socio-political contexts around hygiene as social policy back then, may not be a completely off reading, if I may. Editor: I see, so, is the poster also a critique of science gone too far? So intense. I will stare at the germs of the world as long as they allow me to escape under that beautiful, stellar sky. I find a childish tenderness in these asymmetrical little stars that breaks through the rather disturbing symbolism of the eye... Curator: I agree, these little stars invite the imagination to escape under an imperfect order. But hey, speaking of symbolism, I just caught on something… are they stars, or rather microbes seen through a microscope? And isn’t the radiant composition in the style of a starry sky in other symbolist paintings, like, say, by Klimt? In any case, this exhibition feels more mysterious and ominous than I ever would have expected. Editor: See, now it looks even more ambiguous. So, maybe sometimes we *need* to be watched?