Stories and happenings, and new ways of learning.

Hello all!

It has been a pleasure to read about your experiences during the internships all of you are having this summer! If I can describe mine in terms of timeline, I would say it is a donut. There was a lot of work to be done in advance and at the beginning, and then a period of pause and reflection, and I am now looking forward to continuing and finishing in the second half of August.

I have been thinking what shape to give to my second post. First, I need to follow up with the last things reported in my previous post. and the glitches that had to be resolved. For example, I had proposed a participatory composite drawing at the museum on paper. Since the idea of this composite came from architectural drawings, that historically were created as blueprints (cyanotypes), paper was a crucial part of the proposal. However, working with large pieces of paper proved to be a challenge, technically. I didn't have the space and logistics to work with it, and it was expensive to experiment with. So I switched to fabric. I am so glad that the museum C3 went with my decision. But it also added a different dimension to the collaborative project. While paper (and architectural prints) tend to be associated with a masculine view of the world and a professional status, fabric reminds more of feminine domestic arts that have been traditionally disregarded as art. And the community collecting of materials ties with quilting, which traditionally put together disparate or discarded pieces to make a new whole.  This twist of bad luck turned out to be productive! Check out the first install of the Neighborhood of the Heart:

Another challenge I had was related to the cyanotype process itself. One of the reasons my proposal was accepted for the summer was to accommodate the cyanotype making, which needs sunshine, and summer in Texas offers plenty of it!. However, luck had it that one of the planned activities - with the Teen Council - happened on a stormy day. The Teen Council, made up of some socially and artistically conscious teens that hold all the promise of transforming their communities - was to visit Sunset Art Studios which I was temporarily using as my studio and making the large scale cyanotypes. We planned to make a large scale body shadow cyanotype mural on that day that would take inspiration from several artworks at the Museum (and with a discussion of the idea of home). Of course, we couldn't do that. But fortunately, the Museum of Home Touch (participatory installation in which different individuals had loaned domestic objects they were no longer using but still kept). was still on. We had a reflective discussion of the installation.

Something similar actually happened with the first meeting of the Teen Council, in which we discussed urban planning for neighborhoods across different cultures and eras. Based on the discussion, the teens drew neighborhood designs that I would later implement in my composites. We later were going to make cyanotypes with objects frequently seen in still lifes, but unfortunately at that time the tall buildings prevented the sun to work its wonders. Here is what we did:

Nevertheless, even though the artwork created wasn't optimal, we had a discussion of still lifes and how they reflect the worldview of the era in which they are created - and how our ideas can be different.

These experiences were a great reminder for me to be flexible in accommodating the changes and challenges in a museum setting. They also were a great learning experience for me as a partner in these activities. Differently from other types of internships, where one comes from a position to learn everything and allow oneself to be a beginner in this practical knowledge, I didn't have that luxury. I had to come as an equal partner in the triad of museum educators, museum visitors and myself, while still being conscious that I needed and wanted to learn so much from the other two sides.  I couldn't ask lots of questions to educate myself, but had to come with ready proposals that will inspire and solve an issue. However, the flexibility gave me opportunities to learn, if I were a careful and attuned observer. For example, in the adult workshop at the Plaza (the patio in front of the Klyde Warren Park side of the museum), a museum educator was assisting me. As I was explaining the project to drop by visitors, I noticed how she was "translating" my instructions to other visitors in a more simple language that would be quickly and easily understood by a committed museum goer who nevertheless is a very casual art maker. For someone like me, who is used to explaining artmaking processes to other committed artists with a significant photography background, or to studio art majors, it was a very important to learn how to be simple in my explanations.

I am grateful to the museum staff who helped me learn in this process so effortlessly!  And the enthusiastic visitors, of course!