Embedded Files
Another significant appearance of the Möbius strip, albeit briefly in the spotlight, was the logo for the environmentally-themed Expo '74 Word Fair, held in Spokane, Washington State, which ran from 4 May 1974 to 3 November 1974.
The design arose as a result of a 'competition among several Spokane artists', won by Lloyd L. Carlson.
The logo, albeit far from clear to the uninitiated, is a stylised Möbius strip, which was chosen to symbolize the continuity of life and mankind's relationship with the environment. The three colours, blue, green, and white, also symbolized the environmental theme of the fair, representing the purity of clean water, the unspoiled natural beauty of growing plants and trees, and the cleanliness of fresh air, respectively.
President Nixon (at the height of the Watergate scandal) opened the fair, with the symbol in the background, in a ceremony attended by 85,000 people. About 1,200 journalists were accredited for the opening. Attendance averaged about 35,000 per day over the summer months. The fair ultimately drew 5.1 million visitors, nearly identical to the organisers' projections.
Promotional Material
Great play was made of the symbol, with it appearing on all promotional and commemorative material.
The Designer of the Symbol, Lloyd L. Carlson
Relatively little is known of the designer, Lloyd L. Carlson (1919-2009). An obituary at least gives some basic details, which the following largely borrows from. Carlson was a well-known graphic designer and Spokane artist. He also did the design for the seal of the city of Spokane. He was the Vice-President and Art Director at Devine, Miller, Carlson and Donaldson, the award-winning advertising agency he co-founded in 1968 until his retirement in 1980. Pictures of Carlson in association with the symbol are few and far between. Indeed, there is only one known photo of Carlson at the World's Fair.
However, even here this is not entirely satisfactory, as the Möbius strip logo in the background is unfortunately mostly obscured. Further, without any known sketches, quite how he arrived at the design is not known. A brief background is given by his son, Steven, in the Inlander, where he credits a 'Time-Life book', without being more specific. Possibly, this is David Bergamini's Mathematics, Life Science Library, of 1963. This is a popular book, which could readily be imagined Carlson saw. However, he has at least explained the rationale behind it, in a detailed account given to Jack Geraghty, on the committee who selected the design.
What is the Type of Möbius Strip?
Of interest is the logo itself (as with the recycling symbol); what type of Möbius strip is it portraying? Examination shows that it is a clockwise (single) half-twist Möbius strip. As can be seen, it portrays a flattened Möbius strip within a broad regular hexagon (with rounded corners). The design itself is minimal, without any suggestion of folds, creases, or dimensionality.
References
Anon. ‘Expo ‘74 Symbol Selected’.The Spokesman-Review, 12 March 1972
Shows the symbol and mentions the environmental theme and Carlson, who gives the rationale behind it, and the committee members.
Spokane Chronicle Page 3, Friday, 24 August 1973.
Snippet view only. Möbius strip, symbol of the World’s Fair
Anon. The Spokesman-Review, p. 4, Wednesday, 4 April 1973
Snippet view only. Möbius strip, is Expo ‘74 symbol…
Anon. The Spokesman-Review, p. 24. Sunday, 24 February 1974
Snippet view only. The Möbius strip is named…
Anon. ‘From the Archives: Expo '74. The Spokesman-Review. May 2, 2014
https://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/2014/may/02/expo-archives-black-and-white/
Picture story of the exhibits, with the symbol only appearing by chance, just the once. The piece gives an overall survey.
Anon. ‘From the Archives: Expo '74. The Spokesman-Review. May 2, 2014
https://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/2014/may/02/expo-archives/
A long page, picture intense, with only accidental appearances of the symbol.
Anon. Spokane Chronicle, page 35, Tuesday, 7 May 1974
Snippet view only. Carlson later redrew his mobius [sic] strip, an endless ribbon
Anon. Lloyd Carlson Obituary. Spokesman-Review. Aug. 5 to Aug. 6, 2009.
(Published on Legacy; I have not seen the original)
Anon. Letter explaining Expo'74 logo design, The Spokesman-Review. Thursday, May 3, 2012
https://www.spokesman.com/documents/2012/may/03/letter-explaining-expo74-logo-design/
Letter from Lloyd Carlson to Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty explaining the mobius logo he designed for Spokane's World's Fair, Expo '74.
Anon. The Spokesman Review, Special Section. ‘Hello World. Forty years ago today, Expo ‘74 changed the face of Spokane’. 4 May 2014. ‘Remembering Expo 74 in Spokane’. Cowles Publishing.
https://issuu.com/spokesman/docs/expo_74__may_4__2014
Nothing on the symbol. Seen and noted
Bovey, Chris. ‘What Goes Around. The story behind the iconic Expo '74 logo’. Inlander, April 30, 2014
https://www.inlander.com/culture/what-goes-around-2297323
Has the only known picture of Lloyd Carlson at the Fair. This also details what influenced him, recalling a Möbius strip in a Time-Life book (possibly this was by Bergamani.
The Inlander is a [Spokane] community newspaper covering news, politics, events, happy hour, everything that's happening today, things to do on the weekend.
Bowers, Dawn. Expo `74 World's Fair Spokane. Spokane: Expo '74 Corp.
https://archive.org/details/expo74worldsfair0000bowe/
Official commerative, 128 pp. Skim viewed (missing pages 63,64). Very nice treatment of the Expo ‘74 event. The text has many photographs accompanying. However, the symbol is not discussed, nor appears in any of the photos! It is only shown as a line drawing on the frontispice and pages 4 and 103.
Brunt, Jonathan. ‘Flag designer would be happy to see flag flying again’. The Spokesman-Review, Thursday, May 3, 2012
A follow-up on a post on Spokane’s flag in which biographical and other details are added to by his son, Steven. Noteworthyof which:
I have the original [flag] artwork, along with the original Expo '74 logo master art in my collection of his designs….Dad was born in Spokane and lived there until 1986, when my parents moved to Portland to be near their grandchildren. In his retirement, he painted as a hobby, but still did the occasional logo design to keep his hand in. He passed away in July of 2009 at the age of 90. I know he would be so very pleased that the City of Spokane flag was flying again.
Carpenter, Cory. ‘When Nixon Came to the Fair. Expo ‘74 and Riverfront Park Tour’. Spokane Historical (Not dated)
https://spokanehistorical.org/items/show/384
General background reading on President Nixon’s visit and speech. Gives the picture of Nixon with the symbol behind him. Also see Kershner’s report.
Centre for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. ‘Document 71. Environmental Impact of Expo‘74’
Environmental impact statement; the first part repeats some of Carlson’s text in his letter to Geraghty where he sets out the rationale behind the design.
Cotter, Bill. Spokane's Expo '74. Arcadia Publishing Inc. 2017
NOT SEEN. Likely background reading on the event
https://www.visitexpo74.com/art-and-music/art-of-expo-the-expo-74-logo
https://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/2014/may/02/expo-archives/
https://www.visitexpo74.com/home/informational-and-promotional-materials
Expo ‘74
Links to 12 subsets
Expo ‘74 Logo background
https://www.visitexpo74.com/art-and-music/art-of-expo-the-expo-74-logo
Expo ‘74 Official Guidebook
https://www.visitexpo74.com/informational-and-promotional-materials/official-guidebook
160 pp. but no discussion on the symbol!
Expo ‘74 Official Souvenir Program
https://www.visitexpo74.com/informational-and-promotional-materials/official-souvenir-program
A very long page! P. 81 has a short discussion on the symbol, ‘What’s the Expo Symbol’, but nothing in the way of originality. Alludes to the Möbius strip.
Expo ‘74 Full-Color Pictorial Book
https://www.visitexpo74.com/informational-and-promotional-materials/full-color-pictorial-book
Gardner, Martin. ‘Möbius Bands’, pp. 123–139. In Mathematical Magic Show. Viking, 1984. First published in 1977.
Expo ‘74 is broadly mentioned (but not illustrated).
Geranios, Nicholas K. Cascade PBS. April 3, 2024. 50 years ago, The World’s Fair helped reshape Spokane’s downtown. To remember the 1974 event that drew more than five million people, the city will host celebrations focusing on the environment and Indigenous culture. https://crosscut.com/news/2024/04/50-years-ago-worlds-fair-helped-reshape-spokanes-downtown
A look back at the Fair, with all the travails involved in setting it up.
Graphic Design Standards, March 1972. Expo’74
A five-page booklet setting out the design standard, including the meaning of the symbol, proper use of the symbol, and colour. Of note is the exactitude of all aspects.
Hull, Tom. ‘Sunlight Projects Sculpture Symbols’. Spokane Chronicle. Thursday, 15 August 1974, p. 17
https://www.newspapers.com/article/spokane-chronicle/113271235/
On the ‘trade dollar’ obverse.
Kershner, Jim. ‘President Richard M. Nixon presides over the opening of Expo '74, Spokane's World's Fair, on May 4, 1974’. HistoryLink.org. 20 May 2014
https://www.historylink.org/File/5133
General background reading on President Nixon’s visit. Also see Carpenter.
Kershner, Jim. ‘50 years ago in Expo history: Mobius [sic] logo symbolized environmental interdependency’. The Spokesman-Review. Saturday, Februry 24, 2024
The “Ideas for Expo” column in The Spokesman-Review answered a question that readers 50 years later might also be asking: What does the Expo ’74 symbol mean?
The answer: It’s a triangular Mobius strip
Interestingly, the readership, 50 years ago, and today, were unsure of the meaning of the symbol, hence the explanation! However, I think this is fair comment. Only to the mathematician will it be obvious.
Sank, Jon Paul. ‘Jon Paul Sank’s Worlds Fairs Page: 1974-1982’
An extensive listing of media links
https://www.studylove.org/worldsfairs17.html
Thaxter, Poppy. ‘The Continuity of Life. Lloyd L. Carson’s 1972 logo for Expo'74’. LogoArchive's Logo Histories. May 16, 2022.
PAYWALLED
https://www.logohistories.com/p/expo-74
The city of Spokane, Washington was the location of the 1974 Spokane World's Fair (Expo‘74), a small but grand exposition situated around the falls, rapids, and islands of the scenic Spokane River…
Voices of East Anglia
http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2012/09/expo-74-spokane-usa-souvenirs.html
General background
Wikipedia. ‘Möbius strip’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip
A mention (not illustrated) in passing on the Möbius strip page:
…environmentally-themed Expo’74
Wikipedia. ‘Expo '74’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_%2774
Explaining the basics of the symbol in a general overview of the fair. The symbol is shown top right of the first page.
Expo '74's official logo debuted in March 1972 and was designed by Spokane artist Lloyd L. Carlson. The logo is a stylized Möbius strip, an endless three-dimensional form, which was chosen to symbolize the continuity of life and mankind's relationship with the environment. The three colors, blue, green, and white, also symbolized the environmental theme of the fair, representing the purity of clean water, the unspoiled natural beauty of growing plants and trees, and the cleanliness of fresh air, respectively.
Youngs J. William T. The Fair and the Falls: Spokane's Expo '74: Transforming an American Environment. Washington University Press, 1997
NOT SEEN. From previews, not obviously on the logo, although it is discussed. The defining work on the fair, 627 pages
The Expo ’74 promotional symbol developed by Lloyd Carlson, a Spokane artist,
was a white, blue, and green-colored stylistically-modern “mobius strip,” which by definition is a surface with one continuous side formed by joining the ends of a rectangular strip after twisting one end through 180 degrees. Illustrated on the front cover of this report, the symbol expressed the “continuity of life - man’s inescapable relationship with all things in his immediate environment” (Youngs, 1996).
Sank, John Paul. ‘John Paul Sank’s World’s Fair Page’. 1974–1982
https://www.studylove.org/worldsfairs17.html
A series of links.
Created 4 July 2024 (from existing text of 29 April 2024). The page is a 'new' study, not on my previous site. Last updated 4 July 2024
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