#mahinterns

From my time here at the MAH, I have explored several aspects of the collection of tasks that make up the role of a curator. For the making of the exhibit Dear Jerry, I gained my first experience in the world of archives, particularly the archives of UCSC. With the guidance of our Curator of Exhibitions Justin Hoover, I was able to get a firsthand look at how archives are categorized and to experience the process of selecting individual pieces for a show. 

The technical definition of archive reads as “an accumulation of historical records, or the physical place they are located. They contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of that person or organization”. For my particular trip through the UCSC archives, I researched an organization recognized as an iconic symbol and catalyst of counter culture in the 20th century: The Grateful Dead.

The UCSC Grateful Dead Archives are unique in  that they house the memorabilia placed upon Jerry Garcia’s Memorial Site in Golden Gate Park after his death on August 9, 1995. From personal artwork, to letters, trinkets and thousands of fan decorated envelopes, the archive is a testament to not just the influence of The Grateful Dead, but to the fans. While carefully filing through boxes of relics and letters meticulously categorized and organized, I was reminded that the “function of an organization” is often not solely the organization itself, but the community that surrounds it, that helped sustain and grow with it. The fans, the community of Dead Heads, are what turned a jam band into a legacy that spans generations. 

As Youth Media Interns we are able to capture the  many unique qualities  of exhibits and events at the MAH. This past November we were able to shoot and participate in a short film about the exhibit The Cell and the Sanctuary. This exhibit featured artwork created by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated prisoners throughout the Bay Area. By exploring the relationship of art and the circumstances from which it comes out of, the exhibit showcased the importance of art as a means for peace and self-growth. Thanks to the participation of the William James Association and Barrios Unidos, two local organizations pioneering art in prison programs, this show found its footing and remains a testament to the power and importance of art-behind bars and beyond.

Rebecca Wood: This video was awesome to make because I was able to share how much the art impacted me and convey my reactions to others. Both Mikaela and I had the privilege of choosing a piece of art and speaking about why it was our favorite or why it was meaningful to us.

Mikaela Byers: The Cell and the Sanctuary was one of my favorite installations here at the MAH.  It was amazing to feel such a human connection to each of the pieces -- to see the prisoners’ regret, sorrow, and hope.  Society often dehumanizes people behind bars, and we’re taught to think that they are incapable of loving, feeling.  Many of the pieces in the exhibit showed me otherwise, and I was reminded that there’s always more to someone than meets the eye.  I was glad to make this short movie in order to demonstrate just a few of the pieces that were especially meaningful, and hope that the film’s audience appreciates them as much as I did.

Working on the installation for the Dear Jerry exhibit was an incredibly fun and rewarding first experience of my time here at the MAH. Installing an exhibit never comes without its challenges but the end result is always worth it. Handling  more of the hardware aspects of building pieces for the exhibit and using tools that I was not traditionally accustomed to using proved quite the challenge, yet even with the trickiness of learning to keep pieces level and wield power tools, it was a rewarding experience to look back at something that you physically helped put together.

Pictured above are a select number of fan decorated envelopes  from a collection of over 1000 decorated envelopes from the UCSC Grateful Dead archives.

 I became an expert at hanging things up evenly and level when setting up the 'Make Your Own Album Cover' activity, an activity where museum goers were given the chance to draw out their own personal album cover based on a specific emotion. I also worked on the cases for the fan made envelopes with our Chief Preparator   Robbie and fellow intern Ellyn.  It was an absolute blast to be a part of making Dear Jerry come to life!

Being an intern at the MAH requires more than just a creative mind and top notch problem solving skills, it requires a whole lot of persistence and perseverance. Curious to know what those moments look like? That’s where “The Intern Struggle Is Real” segments come into play. Every other Friday, us interns will take a moment to reflect and share our (often laughable) intern struggles. Whether its figuring out how to hang an extension cord from the ceiling, or how to make an art activity that can appeal to people from age 6 to 60, these are just a few of the many moments that characterize the not so glamorous and face palm moments of the intern experience. No matter how many curve balls are thrown our way, we will be at the ready to face them with an arsenal of lessons learned, because although #theinternstruggleisreal it’s always, #worthit. 

"When you're just an intern, but you keep being told '”You guys should bring such and such back."- Julia Aviles, Street Squad/Guerilla Marketing 

"When you're just trying to give out food, but you look like strangers with candy." – Julia Aviles, Street Squad Guerilla Marketing Intern “When you're wading through a crowd of sweaty, arm flailing 50-something-year-olds dancing to the Grateful Dead and trying not to interfere with their "moves"...snapping this shot in the process #worthit” - Mikaela Byers, Youth Media Intern

 "When you're asked to select 30-40 photos from an event, but can't narrow it down to any less than 85."  –Courtney Lemon, Intern "When you have to figure out how to attach giant pieces of paper to the top of a house frame, while standing on top of a 12 ft. ladder....and you have a fear of heights." - Star Huson, Exhibition Design Intern 

"That moment when 15 kids want to do your art activity at once, but you only have 6 spots at the table." - Sophia Restall, Intern                   "When you lead a tour of 30 rambunctious 3rd graders by yourself”  – Hannah St. Dennis, School Programs Intern

“When you have to carry a generator up a cliff for an event on a particularly windy night and you realize just as you reach the top that you forgot the extension cord and that extra sweater. With a view like this? #worthit” -Emily Corbo, Curatorial Intern

Flashback Friday: Youth Media Interns Mikaela and Rebecca Reflect

As the Youth Media Interns at the MAH, we've stayed busy.  We documented the creation of Everybody’s Ocean, a diverse and lively exhibition in our Solari Gallery that showed more than 270 artists and examined the many different relationships we have with the ocean. We interviewed each artist in the show about their relationship to the ocean and their artwork that was inspired by it. The primary question asked being                              “What does the ocean mean to you?”

As the Everybody's Ocean exhibit is coming down, I am reminiscing about all the school art tours I helped out with while it was up. As a school programs intern I get to lead fun, creative projects in the MAH classroom. My favorite project for this exhibit was with Santa Cruz county's 4th and 5th graders. We had them think about the ocean and their relationship to it; what do they think of, how do they feel, and how can they express it?

We talked about elements of art such as line, color, shape, background, foreground and texture. They were then able to create their very own ocean. Using watercolor, seashells, moss, paper plates, and construction paper they created personal mobiles that were unique to their own ocean experiences. It was amazing to see all the different creations and experiences that came out of this art activity. Try it for yourself!  All you need is a paper plate and a bit of paint to create your own ocean.Think about your relationship to the ocean and visualize it on your paper plate, then fill your ocean with images or colors or words that define your personal experience with the ocean. Maybe your ocean is bright pink or purple, or maybe your ocean is made up of all words. Whenever you feel your paper plate turned ocean masterpiece is complete, take a good look at it and ask yourself this:  What has the ocean taught me? What advice has it given me? Write your answer on the back and  trade your plate with a friend’s to see the ocean through their eyes. Need some inspiration? Check out the image below for some advice from the ocean itself!

On April 17th, I lead a Beatnik-style collaborative poetry workshop for Third Friday: Beats. For this workshop, I invited  people  to write the next line of an in-progress poem, emulating the beatnik style of spontaneity, varied rhythms, and an exploration of sound through words. Beatnik poetry often does not follow a rigid structure or rhyming pattern, but rather focuses on relaying a message or telling a story and exploring the possibilities of sound through words. Beat poetry is meant to be read aloud and the video below is a great example of how the beatnik style is still alive and well today in the form of spoken word poetry.

The 5 poems below were all written collaboratively, each line coming from a different contributor.  Want to try it for yourself? Grab a friend or two or three and see what you can come up with in just 5 minutes. Pass around a piece of paper and when the 5 minutes runs out, take turns reading the poem out loud. Struggling to find inspiration? Add on to the poems below and see where the story goes!

Moon

Last night

I was awoken by the light of the moon.

Then I ran away and hid myself

Under the hood of a dusty old piano

Until that moon put me back to sleep

And I drifted into a land of blissful dreaming.

In my dreaming I heard the music play

Those softly singing voices, joined as one in song

The song story came as it went.

Instead, I embraced moon shadow.

Inside Job

Bobby D was an inside job.

Born on the twenty-fourth of May.

Tuesday in Tunisia.

Actually that is a lie.

One Line Poem

Catalina 1965, paddling without going anywhere.

Pepsi

Enjoying my spring break.

Enjoying a coke.

The stream called as I spoke.

I tried to talk to the Pacific Ocean… she didn’t answer.

I think the ocean is a Pepsi fan…

Lapis Lazuli Lightening

In a dream ten lizards lapped from lapis lazuli pools.

Their lovely leaping left lightening in the lake of dreams.

After a month as a Community Programs Intern, I finally reaped the rewards of many hours of Pinterest, prototyping, and preparation as I worked at my first third Friday event here at the MAH. The event was a scavenger hunt centered around Santa Cruz history called Race Through Time. 

During Race Through Time, I was stationed at the lighthouse on West Cliff Drive. The clue that led brave bike teams to the location was about a shark-bitten surfboard, which now resides in the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. Working with that theme, I chose to lead a song (complete with motions) about a shark attack that I learned while growing up in Santa Cruz.

While I waited for teams to arrive, I yielded strange looks and questions about who I was and why I was standing with a poster that boldly proclaimed, "SHARK SONG". Many people knew about the MAH and our events, and one person even told me he "loves what we're doing at the museum". It was great to see for myself how wide-spread the impact of the MAH has been in the Santa Cruz community. 

Only five teams came to the lighthouse during the 90 minute scavenger hunt, but those who did come were enthusiastic, excited, and not embarrassed to do a silly song and dance, which more than made up for the lack of groups. Several times, after a group finished the song, the dog-walkers and surfers nearby clapped! 

After the last group left, I took a moment to look at the ocean surrounding me, thinking about the beauty of Santa Cruz, the richness of our community, and--of course-- sharks.