Questioning Things: A Quarter Century of Material Culture Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

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Gavin Ashworth/courtesy Chipstone Foundation

"Questioning Things" exhibit teapot.

A circa 1760 teapot and cover; part of the exhibit "Questioning Things: A Quarter Century of Material Culture Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison."

Questioning Things focuses on the study of material culture; that is, the study of the objects of the past, from teapots to chairs to shoes. The “conversational” exhibit is dotted with the kinds of questions that those who study material culture ask, with a nod to the UW's quarter century of scholars in the field, and visitors are prompted to consider their own answers.

press release: Ruth Davis Design Gallery August 24 – November 20, 2022

What do a pair of pink pumps with rosemaling convey about women and immigration? How might an eighteenth-century teapot decorated with fossils open a window onto British society? Is Lieutenant Commander Worf of the Starship Enterprise a fan of Norwegian design?Questioning Things: A Quarter Century of Material Culture Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,on view August 24-November 20, 2022intheRuth Davis Design Gallery, invites visitors to join in dynamic object interpretations while honoring one of UW’s founders of Material Culture Studies.

Material Culture Studies is a set of interdisciplinary methods applied to understanding the material world around us. It invites approaches from a wide range of academic fields and encourages students and scholars to ask questions about the material traces the past leaves behind, from deep time to the past that only happened moments ago–from the study of landscapes to works of art, archaeological remains to the things we use everyday, from foodways to fashion.Questioning Things brings together objects from collections across the university campus and the state of Wisconsin that have been researched by past and present material culture students at UW–Madison. This exhibit celebrates the impact this program has had on the UW–Madison community and the new approaches it has brought to many areas of study on campus and both nationally and internationally. Additionally, this exhibition celebrates the study of Material Culture at UW-Madison, which is now rooted in the Center for Design and Material Culture in the School of Human Ecology.

UW-Madison offers a certificate program in this area that trains students for careers in museums, libraries,heritage sites, the business of art and antiques and many other related fields. The Material Culture Studies certificate program, created and led by Stanley and Polly Stone (Chipstone) Professor Emerita of American Decorative Arts and Material Culture, Ann Smart Martin, is an interdisciplinary program that collaborates with many departments, including History, Art History, Design Studies, English, Anthropology, Library Science,Geography, and Physics. Professor Martin’s retirement from the art history department is the catalyst for this anniversary celebration. Her past and present students, as well as many professional colleagues within the field, have written question-driven labels for the objects on display in honor of Martin’s contributions to material culture. The exhibition then asks visitors to include their own points-of-view in celebration of the multifaceted approach of material culture study. Collections that have contributed to this exhibition mirror

Professor Smart Martin’s interest in highlighting regional treasures in her own research and includes varied objects from The Chipstone Foundation, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Mount Horeb Area Historical Society,and the personal collection of Martha Glowacki as well as UW-Madison campus collections including the Chazen Museum of Art, Kohler Art Library, Memorial Library Special Collections, the UW–Madison Zoological Museum Collections, the Leonard R. Ingersoll Physics Museum Collection, University of Wisconsin Archives, and Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection.

Center for Design and Material Culture Executive Director, Design Studies Associate Professor, and exhibition co-curator Sarah Anne Carter explains, “Questioning Things honors the work Ann and many others did to build the Material Culture Studies program at UW-Madison, and allows us to look ahead to new possibilities for the study of Material Culture on campus.” She, along with her co-curators and past students of Professor Smart Martin, Ryan Grover, Cortney Anderson Kramer, and Jared Schmidt, used Martin’s research and coursework as a rough guide for selecting objects in the exhibit. Ryan Grover, among UW’s first Material Culture scholars and current Director of Rockwood Park & Museum, explains “this exhibition charts the evolution of new thinking about the iconic subjects of Ann’s and UW’s Material Culture research--it playfully shows how curiosity can answer new questions while honoring our history.”

Opening reception for this exhibition will be Thursday, September 15.Questioning Things: A Quarter Century of Material Culture Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was developed with generous support from the Anonymous Fund and the Chipstone Foundation.To learn more about the exhibit and upcoming related programs, visit cdmc.wisc.edu or sign up to receive the latest gallery news and events by email.

Related Events: coming soon

Ruth Davis Design Gallery Hours:

Monday-Tuesday: closed

Wednesday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Thursday: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

Friday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Saturday-Sunday: 12–4 p.m.

By Appointment: cdmc@sohe.wisc.edu