Discovering art
When Bonin arrived at the College as a first-year student, she was interested in politics, the law, jurisprudence and social thought (LJST) major and perhaps going to law school. Bonin soon realized that she did not like LJST because she was "not argumentative enough." Bonin credits the College's open curriculum, which gave her the freedom to be adventurous and to explore her academic interests. Bonin found, for instance, Professor of Fine Arts Natasha Staller's Modern Art History course very enriching-an experience that influenced her to be a fine arts major. Bonin describes Staller, also the chair of the fine arts department, as a very passionate woman who brings art to life. Staller recalled that Bonin was a "dream student: brilliant, inventive, [and] a passionate learner." Taking Studio Art and Photo also convinced Bonin that her academic interests lay in fine arts.
While pursuing her artistic passion, Bonin also found that psychology helped her understand art at a much deeper level. Bonin believes that psychology brings an extremely important human component, both socially and cognitively, to the understanding of art. "[Psychology provides] the answers to the how and the why we respond to art and music the way that we do," said Bonin. This insight prompted Bonin to pursue a psychology major.
While studying art at the College, Bonin stood out to her professors as an exceptional artist and person. Last year, Bonin took a collaborative art course with Wendy Ewald-a visiting professor and artist in residence, who makes collaborative art with communities and children around the world. Bonin remembers how Ewald's class "completely transformed the way [she] thought about making art." In this collaborative art course, Bonin learned how to make art with a community and how to use art in order to stimulate dialogue by looking at everyone's different visions. "This course was very illuminating in terms of others' experiences," said Bonin.
"In my course, Christianna worked with four intellectually disabled women, helping them create their own art work," said Ewald. "It was immediately evident that she was gifted at organizing artistic experiences and working with her collaborators to curate a dynamic project. She is relaxed, flexible and extremely sensitive to the people around her. Her openness and experience prevent her from making value judgments many young people often make."
Ewald's course both influenced Bonin as an artist and as a person. Bonin is considering searching for a career in art that incorporates communities through public events or through outreach.
Bonin wrote her thesis on Joseph Cornell, an American artist, who made collages, shadow boxes and experimental films and who was a Christian Scientist. Bonin studied his diaries and the diaries and writings of Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science and was the author of its fundamental text. As a result, Bonin discovered that Cornell's artistic process was fundamentally grounded in Christian Science. It is often difficult for academics in the art world to come across a truly unique piece of research, which no one has written about or discovered.
"Bonin made major discoveries which, if published-and they really must be published-will re-direct thinking about Cornell in the field," said Staller, who was Bonin's thesis advisor. "To put it mildly, this is exceptionally rare, for scholars at any stage in their career. Although most scholars mention in passing that Cornell was a Christian Scientist (well, many do, anyway), no one before Christianna ever carefully read 'Sickness and Health' and the other key texts, or studied that religion, or attempted to see if there were deep connections between the tenets of Christian Science, and Cornell's world picture. She discovered that there are, on almost every imaginable level of form and meaning."
Bonin, relying on her passion for art and her insight from psychology, found this novel linkage between Christian Science and Cornell and made a valuable contribution to art history.
Senior year, in many regards, represented a defining year for Bonin. "In ways that are thrilling to watch as a teacher of undergraduates, her ambition, her confidence, her abilities all crystallized this year: she has come into her own," noted Staller.
Horsing around
While pursuing her academic interests in art and psychology, Bonin also kept her piano skills sharp both in the classical and jazz styles. In addition to being an accomplished artist and musician, Bonin has been the captain of the equestrian team for the past two years. Bonin says that piano and riding are the two ways she stays sane. She is very passionate about these two extracurricular activities and they serve as an outlet for her energy. Bonin loves being with animals and says that riding "turns off her brain." It allows her to unwind and just enjoy a physically challenging activity. Bonin has always loved horses and remembers that, as a girl, she never wanted to dance. She only wanted to ride.
"[Bonin] is an outstanding girl," said Bonin's coach Beth Manning. "She is hard-working and has good energy. Christi was very responsible, and she had a great sense of humor. She always did a great job of keeping up morale."
Bonin has been on the equestrian team since the first semester of her first year at the College. Practice takes place a 45-minute drive off-campus at the Biscuit Hill Farm in Shelburne, and Bonin describes it as "very fun." The team puts on shows almost year-round on the weekends, an activity Bonin says that she will miss.
Although Bonin has been more often than not busy with schoolwork and extracurcicular activities, she has found time to make lasting friendships and to have a good time. Bonin's close friend, Jennifer Sung '07, met Bonin during their first year at the College. They became great friends and went to London together the summer before their sophomore year. "Christi is very outgoing, on-the-go and extremely bright," said Sung. "She is so committed to everything she does, and she goes 150 percent, always with a smile on her face. Christi is also a coffee addict, which goes well with her upbeat personality."
Another one of Bonin's close friends, Jake Maguire '07, characterized Bonin as a "focused, incredibly driven, determined and insightful; a loyal friend, steadfast and very supportive." Recently, Maguire helped Bonin edit her thesis. Although he did not know very much about the artist she researched, he explained, "Christi's contagious enthusiasm turned me on to the artist." Bonin's excitement seems to draw people in to whatever she is working on. "Christi connects people without a background in her work and she plugs them right in," said Maguire of Bonin's unique ability to bring art to life and to get others excited about it will serve her well in the future, either as a researcher, working in museums or making her own art.
A German excursion
During her summers, Bonin pursued her interest in art. After her sophomore year, Bonin worked at Foundry Gallery in Washington, D.C. This internship afforded her a fascinating look into commercial artwork and curating. After her sophomore year, Bonin went abroad to the town of Sachson-Anhalt, which is in former East Germany and in one of the poorest regions in Germany. Bonin knew no one and worked as a visual arts intern in the Bauhaus-the epicenter of modern architecture.
Bonin put her creative talents to work at the Bauhaus, which is still trying to figure out its role in Germany and in the world. Her job was to make art installations for a summer festival at the Bauhaus. Bonin's boss gave her so much artistic freedom that she was intimidated at first. But Bonin stepped up splendidly, conducting research on post-Bauhaus art and making installations for the festival which reflected the Bauhaus' evolution as an influential center for modern architecture and art. She remembers making good friends in Sachson-Anstalt; as the only American there, her experience was a cultural revelation.
Weighing options
At the moment, Bonin is thinking about taking a year off from the academic world and working in not-for-profit art. Bonin is also applying to several art museums for positions in either the curator's office or the director's office. She wants to work in a museum that is progressive in terms of community outreach; she feels that art museums should have more to offer beyond being merely places to store objects. "Museums need to be reinvented," she said.
In the long run, Bonin is not sure whether she wants to pursue her current scholarly work with art history or if she wants to pursue a career of making her own collaborative art work. A likely path, according to her, would involve enrolling in a modern and contemporary art Ph.D. program after gaining some valuable work experience.
Looking back on her accomplishments, Bonin recognizes that without the help and support provided by her friends and family she would certainly not be quite as successful. They gave her the confidence to take that huge leap into the unknown, a step that enabled her to discover art as her passion. Bonin credits her mother as the ultimate source of strength and constant support that guided her in the right path.
Bonin's comfort with exploring new ideas, coupled with her strong support network, made Amherst the perfect place for her studies; the College's ivied halls have seen her grow and mature intellectually. What comes next for Bonin? Only time will tell, but if her future accomplishments are nearly as impressive as her four years at the College, the art world will continue to benefit from Bonin's work.