Me and Despi at Club Havana in Paris

I’ve had the honor of working with Despi at two places – the Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. At the State Museum she was a tour de force. At the IMA she helped push the museum into the digital world with work that resulted in many awards and the plaudits from other museums. Along the way I was there as a colleague and friend. We argued, collaborated, pushed one another, laughed a lot, traveled all over the world, and became a dynamic duo.  My career would not be where it is today without her. My life would not be as rich. Despi has become family – not just my friend, but also Lea’s. Oliver even tries to say her name.

That’s one layer. There are many more.

Despi over achieves in all areas of her life – as a wife, a sister, friend, colleague, activist, gardener, cigar aficionado, writer, toy collector, educator, toy maker, gift giver, foodie and so much more. She evens spreads cream cheese on a bagel with perfection.

For the past 8 years, I’ve been lucky to be involved in Despi’s life. Her professional achievements have been outstanding and wide-ranging – the Chicano exhibition was the best show I witnessed during my time at the ISM (even beating a dinosaur exhibition – and I love dinos).

I witnessed some of her best work at the Indianapolis Museum of Art where I came to expect nothing less of brilliance in the areas of education, communication, organization and the ability to combine all of these into a creative experience. Not an easy feat. Her role in the Education department with Visual Thinking Strategies and support of exhibitions was superb. Within New Media she spearheaded countless important and award winning projects, including but not limited to, the IMA Blog, Roman Art from the Louvre interpretation, a Maya Lin documentary, the genesis of ArtBabble, and as curator of Nature Holds My Camera: The Video Art of Sam Easterson. All of these were groundbreaking projects for the museum and reconsidered the traditional visitor experience both in gallery and online.  And we had a lot of fun.

Bro and Sis - On location at the Piazza Navona

Despi has since gone onto bigger and better things with Williams Randall Marketing, and soon, a new adventure with The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. I can’t wait to see what she does next. It will exceed all expectations.

She’s a brilliant thinker in general, but within the digital space she’s passionate, running 2 blogs – Figuring out Food and Toys for Change, a personal site, RobotoWear, as well as the expected Twitter chit chat.

I could go on and on about her, but it’s kind of getting sappy. Instead, hear directly from her yourself. She’s remarkable. Read all about it…
What drives you? I am most driven by the need to make a difference. In every aspect of my life, I want to continually get better and make the world better.

What has the internet done for you? The Internet is so complicated. It certainly has given me a platform to investigate things that I deem important, indulge in hobbies and teach myself things I never realized I wanted to know. But not without some sacrifices, particularly in personal privacy and time.

Window or aisle seat? Aisle seat. I prefer the window seat, but I rarely travel alone, and am almost always with someone I care about, so I give up the good seat.

Your 3 favorite toys. My three favorite toys are:

UglyDoll: Wage John bought this guy when we were first dating and I convinced him to change the doll’s name to Carl and lose the apron. Carl became the inspiration for many of my own toy-making endeavors and he still hangs out in our house and is a sweet reminder of that time in our lives.

Clyde: He is a monster I made, inspired by Carl. I love him. However, my dog, Shifty, hates him. He finds Clyde’s giant eye very upsetting.

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Pencil Sharpener. It was a childhood favorite that my sister recently found and gave to me. Owning him is like holding a piece of childhood in my hand. I have almost no childhood toys, so he’s really special.

Tell me about Figuring out Food. What was behind that? Figuring Out Food started out as a way to manifest a New Year’s resolution. I committed to doing more to further healthy food in my own life and to help others, so the blog became a vehicle to tell my story, share what I’ve learned about local, organic food and connect with people. So far, it’s been good. But I could do so much more. I wish I had 100% more time to devote to it.

Despi's organic garden

Favorite artist, favorite designer, favorite rapper – and why? My favorite artist changes all the time. People always ask me this question when they learn I have an art history degree, and I can never give them the one word answer they are looking for. “The” answer.

I also live with an artist that rocks my world, so it is hard to get over that and pick some guy (or girl) I don’t get to watch think, evolve and create on a daily basis. Having said all of that, my short list always includes Albrecht Dürer, Jan Van Eyck, Caravaggio, Yoshitomo Nara, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol,…and depending on the day, a hundred others.

My favorite designer is a tough one. Are we talking fashion? Graphic design? Sneakers? Furniture? Recently, I have really come to view “design” much differently. I think the availability of information and products online has had a profound impact on design industries, particularly in the last 5 years or so, and as a result, there are so many more designers, across an amazing array of fields, to consider. Right this moment I am obsessed with everything Alessi.  I am also in dire need of an Eames lounge.  I guess I am obsessed with home furnishings because my house is still so new to me. I’m sure I’ll be back to sneakers and couture any minute.

My favorite rapper, hands down, is Jay Z. So what if it is an expected answer?! He has produced the most consistently good music in the last decade of any artist out there, in any genre. Yeah, I said it. Brooklyn stand up!

If you could ask yourself any question, what would it be? And what’s the answer? Do I get a pass on any of these questions? Because if so, I would use it here.

Seriously, this is so hard for me to answer because it is counter to my way of thinking. I question myself constantly, it is part of my problem-solving process, so I don’t really leave things, especially big ones, floating around, un-thought about. And, anything I’m not thinking about is in the “blocking it out” category and you can’t have any of those.

What does RobotoWear mean to you? RobotoWear is an amazing opportunity that is most significant to me for two reasons. First, it is the realization of a crazy pipe dream. One of those things that gets thrown out in conversation as a “wouldn’t it be cool if…” sort of thing. It is rare to see one of those come to fruition. Also, it is a physical manifestation of relationships, talent and collaboration that mean a lot to me.

Biggest misconception about you? I used to know the answer to this, but I’m not sure I do anymore. I have changed so much in the last couple of years that I’m not sure what people are saying these days. I’m kind of glad, actually, that I don’t know.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow – where and why? If I could go anywhere, I would get into my car and go on the regional Mark Rothko tour I planned a couple summers ago. I had it all figured out. I contacted museums to see what they had, what was in storage and what was on view and then plotted a journey. (St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, etc. ) Then I just never made time to do it.

Rothko’s paintings are mesmerizing, but seeing a photograph of one is like looking at a blurry photo. It is a snapshot, a hint of a memory, but nothing like the experience of being there. I love standing in front of his big color fields. I feel like I could just step into one. Or that I could close my eyes and just feel the red. I can’t wait to try.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 5 years I see myself still unwilling to answer the question: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years.”

You can learn more about Despi HERE.

On the roof of the IMA

I’ve been so lucky to work on some ground breaking digital projects that have helped place the IMA on a global map – the IMA (or the Indianapolis in IMA) is now more than ‘south Chicago’ or a ‘suburb of Chicago’. It’s been especially rewarding to see how well perceived the museum is in places likes NYC and overseas. I’m glad I could help with that.

This is more than just a going away announcement. My favorite part of the job has been the projects and travel, so with that in mind, I thought I would write a couple of top-5 lists, in no particular order.

PROJECTS

Roman Art from the Louvre Webisodes – 11 short HD videos, on location in Paris and Rome, hours and hours of footage and interviews, award winning, blend of education, marketing and an authentic voice, funny, edgy and I got a private showing of the Mona Lisa. It’s a project I never thought would happen…but it did. And – a perfect example of what can happen if an organization is willing to trust staff. My favorite video below…

The IMA Blog – Produces more digital content than any other IMA project, features the perspectives from a variety of departments including technology, education, curatorial and conservation, some pretty cool guest bloggers that have included Dan Wheldon, Adrianne Curry and author Patrick Smith. It’s one of the best out there.

Nature Holds My Camera – What happens when a museum (especially Director and CEO Maxwell Anderson) allows staff from education and new media to develop a major exhibition? Well, success for one. Fun, second. And the opportunity to work with video artist Sam Easterson, animals, great exhibition design, interactivity and the chance for a museum to reveal it’s fun side.

ArtBabble – it’s been called the YouTube for arts. It’s also been one of the biggest projects I’ve ever worked on; from actually producing videos, to developing the site, to the branding, to the content, to the partner relations, to the marketing. Babble On. Award winning and got me a quote in my favorite newspaper, The Guardian.

Play Art Loud - ArtBabble

Video, Video, Video – Ok, it’s not one project, but it’s been four years of hard work and evolution. When it comes down to it, my colleagues Dan Dark and Danny Beyer have turned the IMA into one of the world’s leading museum video producers. Not bad. Videos range from marketing trailers, to kind-of-boring lectures, to engaging artist interviews, interpretive and educational pieces and major documentaries. One of my favorite videos below.

Those are just 5 projects. It does not include 2 major web redesigns, an iPod Touch tour, the Davis LAB gallery space, exhibition web sites, podcasts, Flickr projects, marketing campaigns, side blogs, creative solutions and so on (I didn’t want to bore you).

TRAVEL

Before I list 5, let me say that this is almost impossible. I love traveling and every destination, so don’t hold me to just these 5.

Martha’s Vineyard – yes, I once actually went there for work for a weekend-long meeting to discuss a major educational project. A summer meeting on Martha’s Vineyard? Yes please.

House on MV

Havana, Cuba – yeah I got in. It’s a stunning country and a place I would visit again in a heartbeat. It triggered my love for good rum, cigars and cuban music.  Here’s some video I shot (and actually edited!).

Walla Walla, Washington – it might just be the name. It might be the gorgeous 4 hour drive from Seattle. I don’t really care. It’s a beautiful area filled with vineyards. Call it the Tuscany of NW.

Lovely Walla Walla

Singapore – exotic, hot, AMAZING food, beautiful people – you name it. I was lucky to travel with my best friend Despi Ross and also snuck in a trip to Malaysia. I also got stuck in Japan on the way back. Why, thank you.

Hindu temple in Singapore

London, England – it’s where my heart is and it was a dream come true to visit on business (and then visit my family). I would move to London in a heart beat – if they could afford me. Pubs, football, amazing clouds and the britishness – I’ll queue up for that!

Millenium Bridge

So, 5 destinations. It doesn’t include New York City, Tijuana, Rome, Atlanta, Paris, Madrid, Wellington, Sydney, Toronto and much more. I’ve loved them all and it’s been a real honor to visit them.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll begin my next professional challenge as a Producer, Online Media and Strategies at the IMS, where I’ll be responsible for developing Online Media strategies including Social Media for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights Series. It’s an amazing opportunity for me both personally and professionally, I have a million ideas for this new position and a lot to learn.

Who knows what the next five years will be like?