So, work was great today! Probably because it didn't involve much "work"!

Today I did nothing other than work and go to Institute, but it still wasn't a bad day. Work was actually quite exciting, even! In the morning I got to go with my supervisors to a special press preview of the Corcoran Gallery’s newest exhibit on Maya Lin (designer of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial). There was free food and we got name tags and I sat next to and introduced myself to this random guy, who turned out to be a light designer at the Corcoran Gallery! He seemed friendly but shy and awkward talking about himself or asking me any questions, so we basically spent twenty minutes just talking about lights. And I did learn a lot, I must say - enough to make me analyze the light design at the exhibit and at our own exhibits today! Then we had to listen to the curator speak for a bit about...um....something... and then, surprise, surprise, Ms. Lin was actually there in person to talk about the exhibit! It was really neat to see and hear her in person. People were taking photos of her, so I took one too.



And yup, she was probably the only one there that day wearing blue jeans. :) Good to see an artist can still have a sense of style these days!

After the speeches, we got to see the exhibit. I really liked it (especially since it was FREE!), much better than the interesting-but-okay-this-is-becoming-tedious "Portraits of Power" exhibit which Valerie and I forked over an ample amount of money to see a while back. Here there were a lot of "sculpture/architectural structures" that attempted to capture the beauty of a natural landscape using indoor type materials (blocks of wood, atlases, 2 by 4s, pins). There was also a video showing Maya Lin and explaining her approach to art - she seems to consider herself involved in three fields: architecture, art, and memorials. It was all very interesting and the artworks were just fun to look at from different angles - like 3-D art! All the press people were taking pictures, so I pulled out my own camera and snapped a couple of the coolest things. But I probably won’t post them until after the exhibit opens...don’t want to pre-jump the press or violate copyright or anything like that. ;)

After the Corcoran Gallery preview party (party = free food and free art and a famous person!), I took a long walk back to the museum, walking all the way around the White House Ellipse (they had policemen blocking off the normal route behind the White House...and I really didn’t mind having to take my time getting back, if you know what I mean) and enjoying the nice, breezy but not too cold day. Back at the museum, I ate a quick lunch and finished writing a press release, then it was time for a meeting about the logistics of the upcoming exhibits/preview events/special thingamajigs happening along with the opening of our two new exhibits. One is basically a collection of all these fancy gowns and jewelry designed by Mary McFadden, and the other is a selection of photos by Hungarian women photographers during the early 20th century. This will be around next week, and there will be special dinners, lectures (Mary McFadden herself is flying here to give some special lectures and help with setting up her exhibit!), and education-y type stuff, including a number of “gallery talks” by curatorial people. And guess what!? At the meeting there was one empty slot for a gallery talk to be done at 7 on March 20. No one wanted to or could do it, and someone suggested that maybe one of the interns would be interested, and, since I was the only intern at the meeting... I kept my mouth shut.


I knew I should have said something and not passed up the opportunity, but I was also just too nervous to speak up. And then the matter was over and settled and someone was going to ask someone else to do it, and I figured it was alllll over. But after the meeting, I was still thinking about how I should have volunteered, and then I worked up the nerve to email the curatorial assistant, wherein I just sort of explained that I was sorry I had missed the opportunity to volunteer, but would actually be really interested in doing the gallery talk and if she didn't want to do it or the other person she had in mind didn't work out......


Five minutes later.........

I GET TO DO A GALLERY TALK NEXT FRIDAY! On Hungarian women photographers!!!! I’m still a little nervous, but mostly really excited for the opportunity to research the exhibition and give a tour and be a real museum expert on the floor. The curatorial assistant, who is super nice and often comes down on my floor to get her mail, use the scanner, and say hi, gave me a lot of good tips and advice after the meeting, and I am more excited than ever. So wish me luck next Friday!


After all that, I went back to my computer, but there was a guy making all kinds of noise trying to fix the big copier/printer thing next to my desk, so I really wasn't able to focus on anything. After about two minutes, I packed up and got permission from my supervisor to go home - yeah for going home a whole hour early!!! It more than made up for the 15 min. lunch break :)


P.s. I'm really, really sorry for not finishing my posts about the Supreme Court and Gettysburg. I'm working on it! I promise! Don't lose hope, because.... "There's always hope." (Daniel, quote?)