A Graphic Tour of My Desk

A GRAPHIC TOUR OF MY DESK
ALEX A STEPHENS / CREATIVE & PRODUCTION MANAGER

Welcome to a short tour of my desk, with some of my creative & personal inspirations. (L to R)

ELISA MCKNIGHT: a "Cancer Sucks" button that my mother gave me during her Chemo/Herceptin therapy. As she said, "Here, have this. Why the hell would I want it." She has been in remission for about 2.5 years. Yay!

HANK WILLIS THOMAS: an "I Like Dick" image pulled from a gallery ad for What Goes Without Saying. Thomas is a contemporary African American artist whose photographs were shown in the MCA Denver exhibition More American Photographs.

THE LION KING SOUNDTRACK: found in my record player when we used it for the Bruce Conner and the Primal Scene of Punk Rock exhibition. Inspiring hearts & minds since 1994.

THE VINE: grown from a short, cut piece, nearly the only view of nature from the basement offices.

DINO!: My bronze dino, adorned with pink ribbon, always reminds me of my favorite movie: Jurassic Park.

THE GOLDEN SECTION: as an OCD graphic designer, this number makes everything I design extremely aesthetically pleasing. Everything.

JUNK DRAWER: where I keep little found items like a thimble, piece of candy and bottle cap; just in case that may help my creative juices. I am NOT a hoarder.

PURE BLACK: again, OCD designer. So the black I use for printing must be just right. All K just won't cut it.

MY FAVE TYPEFACES: got to have them always in your sight.

REAL ARROW: given to me by a crazy ex, this arrow fulfills my obsession with Native American objects. I also have three dreamcatchers above my bed and a full-leg tattoo of a dreamcatcher.

BOUQUET OF MUSTACHES: used during the Teen Council (TeCo) event Faux'stache this year, these ended up on my desk. I already have a mustache, but I guess they are for all those visitors that are jealous.

MILTON: Milton (whose name came from Milton Glaser, the designer who created I HEART NY, etc.) reminds me of my background in type design and layout.

TAHARA HEAD W/ POINSETTIA HAT: I made this glittery head to display a Cockette's costume during the exhibition West of Center. It is now adorned with a festive headband, also worn by a staff member during the 2012 Holiday Video.

ARTWORK BY SANDRA FETTINGIS: I love this cameo-inspired work by local artist Fettingis. She not only works as a visitors services employee & gift buyer at MCA Denver, but also was the curator of the incredibly successful Design Within Denver trunk show series in Shop MCA.

BUTTERFLY: used my creative freedom to make butterflies in our Bubble Garden out of the museum's promo materials.

MINI CACTUS FOREST: love my little version of a desert made up of cacti, given to us by the Biennial of the Americas staff.

HAND LOTION: I keep a hefty stock because my desk is like the outpost for people. The dry weather brings my coworkers from all over the office to take advantage of my tissues, lotion, trash bins and BOTTLE OF ASPIRIN.

CUP O' GLITTER: 'nuff said.

HAT FROM FACTORY: my favorite hat to focus in, given by our amazing marketing partner, Factory Design Labs.

Well there you have it. A short tour of the best desk in the MCA Denver office. If you stop by the Whole Room you can always catch a glimpse from the office door. Disclaimer: the views of me are not the views of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Also, I can't guarantee the desk will ever be this clean again.