The Art of Corn - 4 Jun 2026

The Art of Corn looks at imagery that takes corn as its subject, in the process showing how corn moves from material to metaphor. From ancient Aztec statues to high-fashion couture, art that depicts corn or uses it as a medium goes beyond the aesthetic to reveal larger societal and cultural concerns. This talk explores the sociocultural meanings of corn as represented in paintings, photographs, and other art forms, including handicrafts like corncob dolls.   Guest Speaker: Darra Goldstein is the Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian, Emerita at Williams College and Founding Editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, named the 2012 Publication of the Year by the James Beard Foundation. She has published widely on literature, culture, art, and cuisine and has organized several exhibitions, including Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age and Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005, both at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. In addition to serving as Editor in Chief of the James Beard-nominated Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, she is the author of eight cookbooks.