Separated at birth?

Alex Katz, Vincent and Tony 1969

Captain Obvious

We were able to meet with John Molini of Packing this week and he was one of the coolest and most down to Earth individuals we have come across in our Museum Practices Seminars. A perfect way to end our trek through the inner workings of the Museum! Just sayin'.

Why Should We Care?

So, my partner in crime Sandy stumbled across this gem on the Art Institute’s YouTube channel:




Kudos to the geniuses who decided to have the “two sisters” dress up as the Renoir. Instant classic.


Needless to say, we haven’t been able to get the song out of heads, particularly the hook warning visitors to “expect the unexpected” at the Art Institute. Sure, it’s a cheesy jingle from the 80’s, but the statement rings no less true now then it did then, both for visitors and educators.

I had my first and only Roads Scholars tour this past week and despite my planning, there was nothing I could have done to prepare me for what was in store. I did the tour alongside Terah Walkup (she is AWESOME by the way, just in case you didn’t already know) covering European Modernism & Contemporary Art. We surveyed Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and Contemporary, all in a brief hour and a half that went as quickly as it came. I tackled Surrealism with Magritte’s On the Threshold of Liberty, 1937 and Pop Art with Lichtenstein’s George Washington.

Rene Magritte, On the Threshold of Liberty 1937

Roy Lichtenstein, George Washington 1962

The Road Scholars program members visited the AIC for three days participating in gallery walks, talks, and related gallery programs. They differ from most visiting groups in that the majority of them are not casual museum goers and have formulated views and theories on art. This makes the resulting tours more challenging and the ensuing conversations more in-depth than those you normally get on a Highlights Tour on a Thursday night.

I started off with the Magritte and Surrealism and everything was going exactly as planned (a sure sign that something is about to go wrong) when a woman cut me off to inform me that not only did she not like nor care about the piece but that she didn’t know why anyone else should care either. I expected that type of comment and question further along our tour during Minimalism or Pop Art (based off of past groups reaction to those movements) but certainly not that early on in our tour.

I wanted to answer her question with my personal opinion, but I figured it would be better to let her colleagues and fellow Road Scholars tackle it for her. Why exactly should we care about this work? The result was a series of colorful, intelligent, and honest responses from people not necessarily defending the work, but suggesting that one need not like a work of art to appreciate what it represents from an art-historical perspective. Some commented on the technical and aesthetic qualities of the work while others on the content and its significance. After it all, she may still not have liked Magritte’s work, but her nods and smile hinted at a newfound way of looking and appreciating art. I’d consider that a small victory for art!

Best Intern Duo Part II

David recently published a blog entry about how he and I make the best intern pair ever, which at this point I have to agree with. We both think well on our toes, have great senses of humor, and love talking about art with anyone who will listen.

Oh and we accidentally wore the same exact outfit to work today.

Call it fate, or maybe just a real appreciation for salmon colored bottoms - we were all very surprised and mortified to walk into the docent room and realize that we have been spending a little too much time together...

Best. Intern Pair. Ever.

Over past few weeks the more Sandy and I gave tours the more we realized that we were not only the coolest intern pair ever, but that we also had a lot in common. Behold the similarities:

Royal Lineage

Sandy and I have both descended from a long line of Chicago High School Kings and Queens. Sandy was voted Prom Queen and unsurprisingly lists this major accomplishment on her resume. I believe this is what separated her from other applicants during the interview process and the main reason she was able to land this internship. I was voted Prom King when I was in high school. Coincidence? Don’t think so. The AIC knows all.

We are both Mexican*

* I am 31/32nds Mexican. Sandy is 1/4 Mexican. Together we make nearly 1 and ¼ Mexicans.

We both love bagels.

Plain bagels, raisin bagels, everything bagels, onion bagels, cheese bagels, cinnamon bagels, plain bagels, shrimp bagels, shrimp stew, shrimp and rice, bagels with chives, bagels with cream cheese, bagel sandwiches, You name it, we love it.

We both love fashion.

Cool kicks, shades, hats, shirts, the list goes on and on.

We both love animals.

We love them as pets, we love eating them, we love wearing them, we love talking about them in art...

But most importantly, we both love art.

We love to create it, study it, and share our love for it with others. That's the main reason why all of the interns are able to work so well with each other and why look forward to coming in to work everyday. The last three weeks have featured a great run of touring in pairs with students of all shapes and sizes, from the littlest and most adorable 4 years olds to the slightly more “intimidating” middle schoolers. But next week that will all come to end as we will both be sent off into the world to tour on our own. I can already feel the separation anxiety…

Family Gallery Walks, Open Questions, and the Magic of Name Tags

On Sunday I was able to give my first Family Programs Gallery Walk and despite it not being what I expected, I would consider it a learning experience if not a success.

The theme I chose, Families in Art, was comprised of the set of John Singleton Copley portraits, Doris Lee’s Thanksgiving, and Hockney’s American Collectors. I spent days prepping for it, learning each of the artist bios, each of the pieces respective histories, and generally preparing for the unexpected from what I hoped would be inquisitive kids.

John Singleton Copley, Daniel Hubbard 1764

John Singleton Copley, Mrs. Daniel Hubbard (Mary Greene) 1764

Doris Lee, Thanksgiving 1935

David Hockney, American Collectors 1968

I quickly learned however that the families on my tour were accustomed to taking part in tours where they were they would simply listen and not be bombarded with questions. As a result the first few minutes were what I feared: dead silence as adults and children simply looked at me expecting me to answer my own questions.
Alas, I remembered an important tool I had at my disposal: the almighty nametag. Referring to someone by their name helps foster a sense of intimacy in which people are less likely to be afraid to participate.
I started off by calling on the parents, who were more than willing to participate. Once the children saw their adult actively engaging with both the art and myself they slowly began participating as well. As the tour progressed they quickly gained a level of comfort with answering questions after learning that there were no wrong answers.
By the time it was over I was actually sad that it had only been half an hour as the families were more than willing to continue looking at art. The majority of the children had never been in the Modern Wing and were excited to go off and explore on their own. The moral of the story: make use of the nametags!!!

First week of tours is a wrap!

To describe the first three weeks as ‘busy’ would be an understatement! We were all eased into the Museum Education life/family on day one with a cookie-filled meet and greet with other staff members, but little did we know what was in store (Note to future interns: There will be leftovers. Take them. They are delicious.). We spent the next four days on a sprint through Student, Family, and Adult Programs training in addition to seemingly endless logistical info: sign in procedures, museum tours, Ryerson Library checkout procedures and the ever-so-secret water fountain closets.

Mock tours during week two were a completely different ball game. After three days of mock touring I felt confident given the feedback I had received from both Museum educators and my fellow interns. The feedback received during my Family Programs Mock tour was particularly helpful. Key points to note:

1. Do NOT use Frans Snyders Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market during a Family Tour as it will more than likely include young children (something about dozens of dead animals strewn about a table that does not sit particularly well with the little ones).

2. Do NOT have an anticipatory set of questions for said piece that includes asking children if they have a pet at home and then segue into the piece’s dead animals (the children will connect the dots whether or not you ask them to…)

Frans Snyders, Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market 1614

I have however, fallen in love with this piece and I refuse to let it go! I will find a way to fit it into as many tours as possible this summer. Art from Many Places you say? It’s Flemish! ‘Animals in Art’ is what you seek? It has plenty! Even if they’re dead…

At the end of it all however, we were all still standing and anxiously awaiting our first tours the following week. The first tour I gave with Sandy was a Travel and Transformation themed tour under Art From Many Places. It included (surprise!) the Frans Snyders still life. This time however, it was much more appropriate for the age group receiving the tour. Starting off a discussion of the piece by getting students to think about the food they eat and were it comes from I found works particularly well. It places the imagery into context and seems to channel their collective gasps into colorful conversation.

A successful end to our first day of touring could be celebrated only with lunch at the Taste of Chicago! We all arrived with a game plan of stops and a pork-filled plantain dumpling, fried catfish sandwich, and massive rainbow cone later, my hunger was satiated.

Bring on next week!

About Me

I am a rising Senior at Brown University double concentrating in American Civilization and Visual Art.

I have spent the past four summers interning for the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Education Departments. There I have done everything from give tours, teach art classes, design flyers and brochures, to teach children songs about snakes in trees. Anything and everything art education related!