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Last year, students in the Humanities and Sciences course Material Culture, taught by art historian, curator, and writer Erin Barnett, took on a project involving little-seen objects in the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives.

Each student chose two objects from a pool of 50 items pre-selected by the College’s archivists Beth Kleber and Lawrence Giffin, who focused on recent acquisitions and objects they knew little about.

“I wanted students to have a hands-on experience and to choose objects that resonated with them, either on an artistic or personal level,” Barnett says. “I hope that critically reading and analyzing texts on material culture from a diverse group of critics, historians and artists helps them think and write about their own work in a more nuanced way.”

“Our holdings are so vast,” Kleber says. “We try to learn as much as we reasonably can, but part of the magic of archives is making materials available to researchers to see what they can make of them. Students bring new perspectives and knowledge—who knows what they’ll uncover?”

The students’ choices encompassed a range of work, including shopping bags, vintage ads, and a Braille edition of Rolling Stone donated by BFA Advertising and BFA Design Chair Gail Anderson (BFA 1986 Media Arts), a former senior art director at the magazine. Below, five students describe what spoke to them about the items they picked.

1. Punk cover by John Holmstrom, 1976. From the Steven Heller Collection.

“My uncle was a punk who lived in the East Village and wore the same pair of jeans for a year straight in the ’80s. I’m always fascinated to know what that scene was like . . . when New York was really cool.” —KAITLYN BILIAS (BFA Fine Arts)

2. Liberace Museum Las Vegas paper bag, undated. Donated by Allen Prusis. From the Design Study Collection.

“I selected the Liberace bag because it seamlessly blends common every- day utility with exquisite design.” —YAXUAN WANG (BFA Illustration)

3. Handsum orange crate label, undated. From the Steven Heller Collection.

“I chose this because it has a striking presence. Its bold complementary colors paired with the soft style of the lithography drew me in. Pre-digital advertising and branding just seems more expressive and has more character, in my opinion.” —KAITLYN BILIAS (BFA Fine Arts)

4. “Tampax. Why Be Earthbound?” advertisement page proof by Roger Ferriter, undated. From the Roger Ferriter Collection.

“This advertisement is notably impressive—it doesn’t adopt the conventional promotional approach, centered solely on extolling [the product’s] advantages.” —MINKYU KIM (BFA Design)

5. “War Is Hell! Ask the Man Who Fought One,” Kenneth Deardoff for the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, c. 1969. From the Kenneth Deardoff Collection.

“The first impression the picture gave me was very profound: the soldier’s silent tears. It expressed an emotional appeal that made me want to know more about this object.” —YIFEI HU (BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects)

6. New York City subway map, Metropolitan Transit Authority, October 1, 2001. From the Design Study Collection.

“I chose this map because I’ve always been fascinated by the MTA. The unusual train routes [rerouted after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks] caught my eye.” —EUN JAE KIM (BFA Design)

A version of this article appears in the spring/summer 2024 Visual Arts Journal.