It's almost been an entire month since my last post! I can't believe how quickly time flies. I've done so many things-my days have been packed, I've been exhausted (in a good way), and all the adventures have been making my summer incredible. There have been a lot of visitors in the City, which gives me hope for staying in touch with everyone post-graduation. Two sorority sisters, Laura and Larmo, spent the day with me going around my neighborhood and Union Square. My fellow Poly Rep, Jenna, and I found a killer oyster bar near Pier 24. And, best of all, a whole slew of my friends from various parts of my life (Shack from Poly Reps, Shelly from home, Lindsay from AOII/school, and Ryan) all enjoyed Waffle Sunday at Lindsay's PLUS were immersed within colorful delights as we sat around at the Berkeley Kite Festival. My little sis, Kelly, is visiting at the end of the month, and I get to see my friend Kevlyn tomorrow; hopefully Kelsey Rugani and Charlotte Cashell-Varga will be up here soon. The last exciting aspect of all the visitors is that my friend, Danielle, moved up to SF yesterday with her boyfriend, Kyle. Talk about wonderful!
The internship has been going really well. We're coming into the final weeks for the rock'n'roll exhibit. At the end of the month, I'll be helping to deconstruct and pack-up the whole thing-including handling costumes, such as Janis Joplin's infamous feather boa and Jerry Garcia's Americana top hat. No big deal. :) Also, the following week, I'll be thrown into helping get together the Angels in America exhibit! I've been sitting in on exhibit committee meetings for the past few weeks, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that this will be a fabulous and epic exhibition. If you have yet to see a production of the long, 8 hour play/opera/miniseries, I highly recommend you do. The show itself uses humor, honesty, and wit to call for a need for acceptance, allowing everyone to make their own choices, and ultimately to revive a spirituality that has seemed to be lost in modern day America, especially at the height of the terror created by the AIDS epidemic. I've been doing my research on the play, as well as helping the curator with transcribing interviews. Hopefully there will be more to help him out with.
I've also had the opportunity to go on plenty of field trips on behalf of the museum. Other than SFMOMA, I've been to Walt Disney Family Museum and the Maritime Museum, located in the Marina and is also a National Park. Pictures are posted on my facebook! (If you want to see them, but don't have a facebook, just email me at ilanawinter@gmail.com). The Maritime Museum was beautiful not necessarily for it's content, but rather for the establishment's history. The building was created and decorated thanks to the WPA (part of the New Deal) in the 1930s. It's home to gorgeous art deco architecture, a mural painted in a style ahead of its time, and a great mosaic that was done by the first African American artist to be hired by the WPA. The best part is that there was an issue regarding the project (and the integrity behind its use) that the artist quit, and the mural was never completed! Also, any conservator would gravitate towards this place due to the second floor having severe water damage, and would be an amazing project to really sink your teeth into to help renovate. The Walt Disney Family Museum was INCREDIBLE. Imagine Disneyland and your favorite museum colliding; that was this place. We all got a tour from one of the directors, which was fabulous. There was so much content, it became overwhelming...but in the best way possible. I can't even express how much joy filled my heart when I saw an entire gallery devoted to Disney's interaction with HUAC hearings and creating WWII propaganda. I could feel a thesis writing itself within the depths of my soul. The best part was at the very end, in the gift shop, there was a book that countered an argument I'd made in my American History through Film class; essentially, it states that Disney helped to establish the counterculture that explains the 60s and backlash of the 70s. However, I believe that Disney could not have been as wildly successful has was without the conformity that swallowed America in the 50s. I'll report back after I finish the book. Basically, it's my favorite museum of all time...with the exception of it's lack of costumes. However, there's always room to grow...maybe they just need the right person on their staff. ;) I still have quite a few places to check out before September 10: the DeYoung, Academy of Science, the Exploratorium, Zeum, Museum of Folk and Craft, Wells Fargo Museum, Jewish Contemporary Museum, and Yerba Buena.
As per the adventures I've gone on, they've ranged from sitting on the floor for hours in City Lights bookstore (home of the Beats, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsburg) to discovering bars with ridiculous amateur comedy nights. I've checked off quite a few things on my To Do list for summer, though! Ryan and I ventured to Napa, where wine tasting was delicious (however...not as good as compared to Paso Robles. Let's be honest here.) My favorite was actually in Sonoma on our way, a place called Jacuzzi Vineyards. Not only was the wine good, but the vineyard was gorgeous. And, would you guess, that the woman helping us just so happened to have gone to Cal Poly and was in AOII?! She graduated the quarter before I joined-go figure! I also romped around Golden Gate Park a bit, including sitting outside the venue for Outside Lands Music Festival with Ryan, Laura, and my friend (and Laura's boyfriend) Vince. Who needs a ticket when you can hear Cat Power and the Strokes for free? :) The best adventure thus far, (and over the past month) I must admit, has been being surprised by Ryan with a private horseback riding trip through Marin, complete with a picnic. It was relaxing, gorgeous, and surprisingly good exercise. The trees were green, the weather was perfect, and the fresh air filled my lungs with vitality and happiness.
The most productive aspect of the last month has been my academic track. I'm almost done with my last draft of my senior project catalog (which will be turned in next Monday), which means I'll be completely finished with all things senior project by the end of September. YAY! Also, I've been finalizing my list of graduate programs to apply to. The big contenders are the following: JFK University's Museum Studies M.A.+MBA, NYU's Costume Studies M.A., New School (Parson)'s Fashion Studies M.A., Claremont's Cultural Studies with Media and Museum Studies Concentrations M.A./PhD, SFSU's Museum Studies M.A., George Washington's Museum Studies M.A., and University of Texas's American Studies M.A./PhD. This is only 90% sure, but I have already visited JFK (with whom I was thoroughly impressed with), and have plans to visit SFSU and Claremont's programs within the next few months. I'd love to visit the other schools whenever possible, but have been able to correspond with a few via email (always a good thing). I'm so happy that a large majority of them want to see the catalog as part of my writing sample, and some don't even take GRE scores into account (which I would prefer only because I don't believe in standardized testing). We'll see. I have a meeting with our in-house curator tomorrow to see if he has any recommendations, as well. My coach for senior project, Darlene, has been helpful-as have the History Department staff at Poly-who all say the same thing: check the curriculum, location, and faculty. Any program can work, but it's the connections that are most important and that you enjoy the whole basis of the program. We'll see!!! All I know is that considering the light load I have fall quarter, the applications look more like fun than punishment or something I'll resent later on.
So, what an update! More to come as there are a few concerts, lots of visits, and hopefully some baseball in store! The only thing I'm really waiting for is for the summer weather to kick in...I'll probably already be back in class. I wonder if I'll miss the fog...
