Student-curated exhibit explores the history of cheese and its impact on society
As Abigail Bonner began her spring semester internship with University Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, she expected to work with historical materials. What she discovered instead was a chance to tell a flavorful story with unexpected depth through creating “Say Cheese: An exhibit on the exploration of cheese in the 19th and 20th centuries,” which is on the first floor of Newman Library through the end of May.
Bonner, a dual major in art history and classical studies, began her internship in mid-January. In addition to processing and digitizing archival collections, she was tasked with creating an exhibition using food-related materials.
Her original focus didn’t quite stick. “I was originally drawn toward children’s nutrition, but as I thumbed through materials and ephemera on children’s nutrition, I was entranced with the color and life that I saw in the cheese-related materials,” said Bonner. “Thus, as an art history major, this color and life really spoke to me, and I decided to pivot to focus on cheese. I also liked that there was a wide variety of archival materials on cheese, which would create a diverse exhibition.”
What might seem like a niche topic quickly proved to be anything but. Through the process, Bonner uncovered layers of historical flavor within the archives.
“Even in ‘Say Cheese,' you can see the impact of technology and science, art, financing, and marketing, as well as war, feminism, and history,” said Bonner. “There really is something for everybody.”
Designing the exhibition required both structure and creativity.
“I have learned that organizing the display of an exhibit has a strong connection to art history,” said Bonner. “Even though setting up the display cases was a lot of trial and error, in a sense, it was similar to creating an artwork. Everything needed to fit together logically and have aesthetic sense.”
Bonner hopes visitors leave with a new appreciation for a subject that’s seen as, well, cheesy.
“When I tell people my focus is cheese, the typical response is laughter. Cheese is seen as a very unserious topic to most,” she said. “However, it held so much value when our country was at war, and it gives rise to questions about women’s roles in society. It also brought so much color to magazines and stores in the mid-to-late 1900s. I want people to see both sides of cheese: that it was bright and comical, as shown in images of cheese on pie, but also that it helped families and troops survive the darkness of war. ”
Her experience curating the exhibition also reshaped her understanding of archival work.
“The biggest takeaway from my work with SCUA [Special Collections and University Archives] is how many ‘hats’ archivists wear and the many layers to archival work,” she said. “You are working with artifacts, books, newspaper clippings, photographs, magazines, advertisements, old containers, and folders.
"All of these elements can make up just one collection. Then, when you aren’t handling these materials, you are building and curating exhibits, designing graphics, teaching classes, coordinating with donors, speaking with families related to the collections, and planning events. Archival work is so multifaceted, and you can never truly know what will be waiting for you when you enter the doors to the archive each morning.”
