International Museum of Art and Science - Mariapaula Vargas, Week 3

 

Week 3: July 19 - July 26

Mariapaula Vargas

7/19 Day 11

Holis!! Today was, once again, another fantastic day. I arrived practically running into a cross department meeting since I missed my first two alarms🙈. However, I made it on time and was able to sit in on them speaking about the Collage Gala which is always very, very interesting. I finally finished the first version of my newsletter article but am definitely going to edit it because it is almost 900 words (I just love this experience so much😇). My boss told me I could write as much as I want for an online version and limit myself to max 600 words for the physical copy, so that is my next task. After my lunch, I visited the campers, and they were learning about surrealism. It was super cool to sit in and listen and analyze random things around the room with Olivia, an education intern, to see if they were considered surreal. I then participated again and sketched a surreal drawing. After that, I was invited by the curatorial team to take a vault tour and OMG IT WAS SO COOL!!! The vault holds around 14,000 cataloged pieces that range from geology to Mexican and Latin folk art (my favoriteee). Marcelo and Celina, members of the curatorial department, showed me the software they use and the oldest pieces of art they have which are claimed to have been created in the sixteenth century! My favorite artifact, though, was a scrapbook that both Marcelo and Celina had never come across. It was a wooden back book (I've never ever seen that) with thick, brown pages and photographs of Mexico in the 30s-40s! I LOVEDDDD seeing how much cities, like Monterrey, have changed as well as the beautiful pueblos! It is truly fascinating how much history can be found in art and how art can be used as research. Celina was telling me that one of the IMAS' main goals is to ensure it feels like it belongs to the community, and I thought that was so important! Today was just the best way to start the new week!

-Pau💕

My surreal sketch

(Paucasso pt.2)

The Vault (I would neverrrr go in here by myself)

Marcelo showing me a frozen and dried rattlesnake that almost made me fall off the stool from how alive it looked 

(Marcelo knew what he was doing)

 

Some superrr cool and beautiful photos from the scrapbook!

A letter written on the back of the photograph of the two ladies above going to Edinburg, Texas dated 6/21/1938! 

(That's as old as my Tata!)

7/20 Day 12

Hellooo!!! Today I started of the day by reading the newly posted blogs, and I was honestly in awe of the work the other yappers are doing! I finished writing yesterday's blog and took a trip to the front desk where the receptionists work! I learned about the different tasks they do aside from welcoming and checking people in. I learned that they are also responsible for contacting schools, other museums, and tour groups in order to create schedules and work with budgets, meaning they operate closely with the department I'm working in. I also walked around the gift shop and found a coloring book called "The ABC's of the RGV" which I will be purchasing before I leave! After that, I attended the luncheon I had mentioned in last week's blog! Its aids with networking and supporting women in businesses. I traded cards with many of the inspiring women there and was amazed by the way they carried themselves. The conversation was about ChatGBT, and I was reminded of when we spoke about AI and did the workshop! As I was leaving, many of them congratulated me and wished me luck😊! I came back to the office fulfilled when, all of a sudden, a man named Saul, the chair member for Collage here at the IMAS, was confused about the location of his photo op. He had stayed at his boutique while the IMAS staff was at the museum. While we had been waiting for him at the museum, Ann was telling me all about his shop and how AMAZING it was. We then got the news he was still over there, so we took a field trip! The boutique smelled soooo good and looked so expensive! I was almost in heaven when I walked in; there was perfume, beautiful jewelry, and so much interesting decor that I would so put in my house! It was awesome meeting the people I did today and taking a small break from the museum setting!

-Pau💕

                        V es para: El Valle

                        Puro 956!!!

OWE's Mission

Current and Ex members of the OWE board (PLEASEEE excuse my hair😔)

Photo Op in Carats!!!

7/21 Day 13

 

Hi!! Today is Friday, and it sure felt like it! This morning, I came in earlier than usual because there was an all-staff meeting. It was super fun since they provided breakfast (cafecito con pan dulce😋) and started the meeting with a game of telephone! They gave a shout out to Josue, a member of the curatorial team, for putting up a new banner outside. I was curious as to which banner they were talking about, so I asked him if he could show me it. The whole curatorial team took me through a path I have never seen and showed me the new banner. It turns out I have seen it since it's on the front of the museum, but I hadn't known they were talking about that one. Josue told me the process it takes to put them up; it takes four people in total since two are on the ground pushing it up while two people are on the roof, tying it to the other side of the building! I was honestly shocked because I didn't realize how difficult it was. After that, they filming company came back to continue recording the campers, and it was really cool to see them working! I pretty much spent most of my day with the campers because they are so fun to be around. They are definitely some of the most creative individuals I've met, and I am thrilled that they got to express themselves and be exposed to different types of art through the camp! I began editing my article for the newsletter since the physical copy has a word limit of about 600 words (my draft/second version is 853). I also asked for some help on the press release since I was still struggling with it. I ended the day with visiting pterodactyl, the little birdie, and was so excited when I saw he was starting to flap his wings! Overall, today was an awesome day!

-Pau💕

IMAS Staff🙌 🙌 🙌

    

                             Collage Filming

 

IMAS Banners

Pterodactyl!!!

7/24 Day 14

Hola!! Today has been a very slow Monday. I started off the day with editing the press release and catching up with my boss because it was her first day back from her vacation! After that, she took me to the curatorial team office since they were going to officially start the removal process of the Picasso collection. I was able to see how they store the pieces back to their documented places, and it was soooo cool! During that process, we were in the vault so new pieces were discovered, including a decapitated, taxidermied hawk! When all the frames were down, the identifying plaques were still up. I asked Celina how they were made and put up, and she told me they're made of printed paper on a thicker paper! I had no clue they were created like that! I helped her carefully rip off the plaques from the wall. All that was left was the vinyl text which is going to be removed tomorrow. The gallery was empty empty!!! After that, I attended a team check in where I gave a run down of what tasks I've been completing. When that was over, I decided to continue working on my blog and my article in the library. The education interns, Sarah and Olivia, came in to work on their lesson plans for camp, so I listened in on that too! They're really funny and super nice😁! While we were there in the library, Roni, their boss, came in and asked if they wanted to help with the animal feeding; she invited me to watch so I wouldn't stay by myself! It was super cool to see the animals eating, and honestly, they were so cute! I got to pet Ryujin which was my first time everrrr petting a reptile! Today was a really fun day!

-Pau💕

Storing Picasso!

 Decapitated Hawk

The Clark Gallery after

 Ryujin😍!

7/25 Day 15

Hello!!! Today, I was sooo excited to see the revealing of the art pieces for the new gallery. However, Celina was not super confident in the layout she had made, so the crates weren't going to be unboxed just yet. I popped into the curatorial team's office right on time, though, because they were going to go into the gallery to remove the vinyl letters. I asked them if I could watch, but I ended up helping! It was an extremelyyyyyy tedious task, so it took us ALLLL day to almost finish. It was fun, though, because it was super duper relaxing to peel off one by one the letters, and I got to talk to the curatorial team about soooo many things! We talked about school, movies, music, and our childhoods! I was really happy when they appreciated the help I had given them since it was a task that required a lot of hands!

-Pau💕

Me and Jorge removing letters

Celina and Olivia finishing the wall

7/26 Day 16

Hiii!!! Today was an amazing day becauseee the boxes were finally being opened! I started off the day by peeling off the letters from the last wall which took me allll morning. It was a fun way to start my day off, though; it was a bit ironic because the last word I removed was Picasso, and the gallery's name is Picasso! It was really cool! I then ate a very good lunch alongside my boss and some curatorial members! My boss gave me some good feedback on my press release, so I read over that and started to edit and revise it. I heard drills, so I dashed to the gallery and saw the boxes being opened!! I witnessed the installment of the glass kimono piece which is extremelyyyy beautiful! I also got to see them unbox a lucky statue made of paper mache! It was reallyyyy cool to see the process and being able to support by holding bolts and drills😁😋!

-Pau💕

My last word

Unboxing the Glass Kimono

   

Holding the bolts and drill after unboxing Deruma

 Overview:

This week was awesomeeee!!! I got to see so many new parts of the museum and learn sooo many new things! It's really cool to learn by doing! I also feel a lot more connected to the staff here, so I'm sad I'm leaving them in 1 week😿.