Death rates in the 20th century fever, polio, measles, hepatitis among others. However, war, genocide and Holocausts have led to many millions of deaths throughout the century, and late in the century AIDS had already killed millions, particularly in Africa and south-east Asia. Cancer also killed millions via lifestyle and pollution generated by increased work in factories. During the 20th century, an enormous improvement in public health led to an overall decrease in death rates. Infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates have dramatically decreased. In the early 1900s, 6-9 women died in pregnancy-related complications for every 1,000 births, while 100 infants died before they were
The Imaginary 20th Century and the curatorial idea for "The Imaginary 20th Century", evolved out of Bistis’ research for “Comic Art: The Paris Salon in Caricature,” a 2003 exhibition organized by the Getty Research Institute. Klein and Bistis started work on the project with support from California Institute of the Arts, though principal support came from ZKM/Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The first iteration of "The Imaginary 20th Century" interface was built by Andreas Kratky, Klein’s collaborator on "Bleeding Through". It premiered in 2007, in "YOU-ser: The Century of the Consumer," an