The Beginning of the End

As I head out of April and into May everything I've been working on for the last two years is wrapping up; Teachers College, International House, my internships.

School
I turned in what I thought was a rough draft of my IP to my advisor in early May. Just before leaving for Passover we made an appointment to talk it over. I was completely surprised when the IP was handed back to me and my advisor said it was finished. In all honesty, I'm not sure my advisor read all of it. In her defense, it's been rough at TC recently with professors leaving. It was clear that my advisor had taken on a number of PhD dissertations and MA students' work was not her main focus. So, over Passover while I was at home I continued to edit, and I hope to add a bit more to it from a few books I'm reading currently.

Dorm Living
IHouse has overall been a very good experience. I have loved having friends just a hallway away, texting the message "Meet @ Claremont in 10," and all those funny conversations over bad cafeteria food. I especially love the activities I've gotten involved in. Swing dancing with Dave and the rest of our little group is just wonderful. I've also enjoyed being a part of Liam's fan club and traveling around for performances or sitting around Melissa's apartment singing along to songs I've never heard before. By far the best has been tutoring with Jelani, who is beyond incredible. I hope to somehow be in contact with him as he grows up, I am just so desperate to see him succeed and have every opportunity possible. He is just the most incredibly thoughtful, sweet, and genuinly funny kid I have ever met. He will be the Tutorial Graduation's valedictorian!

Tanenbaum
Oh, Tanenbaum. There is no doubt that there have been ups and downs, and I seriously considered not staying on after last summer. But staying on was an excellent decision, and not only have I gained a lot of experience with designing and editing curricula and site visits, but I have met incredible people with a huge range of passions. I really couldn't be luckier to work with the people that I do. It's bittersweet to have Tanenbaum end, because most of my fellow interns will be moving far, far away. Still, there are quite a few coworkers who will be in NY for the forseeable future.

Museum
will also be ending my Museum internship experience just before graduation. There hasn't been an aspect of this internship that I haven't appreciated or learned from. Today was an excellent example of a more challenging day; working with preschoolers in the morning and a group of adults from a Jewish home for the physically and mentally disabled. The little kids were harder to corral than the 10 year olds I normally work with, but more energetic and inquisitive as well. One boy, Jahair, would always want to know about the other painting on the wall and would get frustrated when I didn't call on him, saying "But my hand is up, my hand is up!" They were all so cute and I had a great time after the art making sitting with the kids and discuss our favorite juices. The adults were a bit more difficult. I was able to hold some brief conversations with some of the more talkative visitors and was able to promote interaction with some of the touchable objects.

Change Over

I'm taking a desperately needed break from my thesis at the Museum today. I'm doing preparatory research on the new exhibitions that are being installed; Asa Ames: Occupational Sculpturing and Dargerism: Contemporary Artsts and Henry Darger.

I just took a quick peek upstairs to see the whole museum is in the process of the change over. The carnival horses are no longer running together but are spread out over the floor in what looks like a random stampede. The lion peers out between the slates of its wooden crate, and has never looked more realistic than now that it's caged. The smell of fresh paint is everywhere. The red walls and gold Hebrew letters on the foyer are now covered over in a deep teal. Priceless paintings lean against walls as if they were old posters. The usually quiet and sparsely populated museum is crowded with workmen carrying crates in and out of the museum.

All the guards tell me as I pass them that this will be a really popular exhibit. Like Ramirez, the outsider artists who will make up the Dargerism exhibition will draw people in with their offbeat and often disturbing pieces. They are expecting thousands of people, and full capacity on Fridays. Quite a difference from the mostly JCC senior groups that attended the Jewish themed exhibition.

I cannot wait. I'm reading up on the Darger-inspired artists and the pieces we will display. I find that I'm especially drawn to the photographers, Justine Kurkland and Anthony Goicolea who depict adolescent groups of girls and boys in sometimes innocent, more often disturbing interactions. Other mediums include sculpture, orchestral composition, collage, ceramics, as well as graphite and painting. I'm enjoying reading how the artists have found Darger inspiring; some by his methods of tracing and appropriating, others by his style of shallow depth and color, many by his epic tales of imaginary worlds.

The change over echoes my own restructuring as I prepare to leave TC, and perhaps NY, for the next steps in my life. I could use some new paint.