Amanda Forbes/The Lantern
"Objects of Wonder from The Ohio State University" showcases many of the school's treasured items.Much like a secret treasure trove, Ohio State has some of the most extraordinary and inimitable items stowed away in its closets and attics.
Jesse Owens' 1936 Olympic medals; Archie Griffin's 1974 Heisman trophy; an M.C. Escher 1944 lithograph; a first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection." Many items from OSU's collection are now on display at the "Objects of Wonder from The Ohio State University" exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art.
"How our world is known [is] in objects," said Melissa Wolfe, associate curator for the CMA and lead curator for the exhibit. "That's how we understand our world, that's how we structure it, that's how we record our world."
"Objects of Wonder" displays items borrowed from 34 different departments and compilations housed at OSU. More than 700 items are on loan from collections such as the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection to lesser-known assortments from the Museum of Biological Diversity.
Geoff Smith, professor and head of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, said this exhibit is important because it is indicative of the resources available to OSU students.
"I hope they appreciate the many people at OSU who have developed these collections over the years and have done so much for the future of scholarship and the growth of knowledge," Smith said in an e-mail. He said his department provided CMA with a list of what it thought was important to be displayed.
"We chose rare and unique books, manuscripts and artifacts that distinguish our collections," Smith said. The items Smith felt were of particular note were the Darwin book and a 1619 printing of William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," an item Wolfe said stunned a recent group of OSU theater department students. Wolfe said their reaction is exactly what she is aiming for in this exhibit.
2008 Woodie Awards
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