CORN:unshucked

         Corn has been regarded in many different ways throughout American history; it has been, and continues to be, viewed as a sacred object, a symbol of Americana, as well as a commodity. Utilizing objects from Seton Hall University’s Native American Collection, the exhibit begins with the role of corn in Native American societies of the Pueblo Hopi of Arizona and the Iroquois of New York. These tribes consider corn sacred and use every part of the plant in their daily lives. The exhibit explores how the perception of corn has transformed from sacred to symbol of Americana to the treatment of corn in contemporary society. Presently corn is something that is found in nearly everything we use and eat, becoming a highly commodified, government funded monocrop responsible for environmental and cultural change.

          The concept of Corn: Unshucked was conceived prior to a workshop and lecture funded by the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University titled “The Silent Message of the Museum” with guest presenter Fred Wilson, an internationally known artist and curator. Wilson’s projects expose the one-directional view typical of traditional museum practice and reminds us that there are many different perspectives and viewpoints other that those contained in traditional museum wall text. Following in Wilson’s footsteps, Corn: Unshucked investigates the symbolic value of corn as well as its role in contemporary society by displaying American ephemera alongside objects from traditional Native American cultures. This juxtaposition will illustrate America’s cultural dependence on corn and examine the wisdom of that reliance, while highlighting the fundamental differences in the way cultures perceive and make use of corn.