Before Burning Man, people's need for huge, slightly insane-making art had to be assuaged some other way. The International Expositions were excellent in that capacity; the one held here netted us our Palace of Fine Arts, and if that joint doesn't trip you out, we'd enjoy some of whatever does. At "Treasure Island 1939: San Francisco's Pageant of the Pacific" the Presidio remembers another gorgeous, enormous and somewhat gratuitious display of wow. It "highlighted the cultural and economic life of the Pacific region," which was just an excuse to build giant Art Deco installations, light them romantically at night, and paint moderne takes on the local landscape. See photographs and memorabilia at this tribute exhibit.
July 22-Oct. 18, 2009
