Rare lost Interview with Bob Cassilly

This is an interview I did with Bob Cassilly founder/creator/mastermind of City Museum in 2007. This was shot on my old slightly broken Panasonic camera that I had at the time. This was probably the first time I met Bob. But I knew doing interviews wasn't his favorite thing, so he was very gracious to let me pester him a bit. I wasn't satisfied with the video quality of this clip so I never used it for anything. At the time I was thinking of doing a short doc about City Museum, which never happened. I found this interview when rearranging things in my studio recently and I thought that now that he's gone (he was killed in a tragic accident in 2011) I'm thought people might want to see it.
I only have a vague recollection of doing it, but I'm surprised at how insightful this interview is. Cassilly gives some insight into the idea behind City Museum and how he intended for it to evolve organically and I think that's an important lesson for creative people to remember. Sometimes people in creative professions that do creative work in very structured corporate environments get so wrapped up following specific instructions that the life gets squeezed out of the final product to such a degree that nobody really cares about the final product. How do we keep that creative spark that helps us envision solutions that make projects interesting? Sometimes that solution could be to allow a project to evolve organically. Take the first step and see where the next logical step takes you, rather than just moving on to the next step on the checklist. I think most creatives intuitively understand this, but maybe this is a good thing for people who manage creatives to remember. You'll often l get a better result if you allow the process to guide your team rather than setting very rigid expectations. Which is not to say that you shouldn't set goals or have any expectations. Just don't set a project guidelines up to be so rigid that you squeeze all the life out of it. Some of the most successful projects I've been involved in have progressed organically like this.
There's another takeaway from this video: Cassilly talks about how, as an artist, he wasn't afraid to pursue another profession, real estate development, to support himself. Eventually both of those things came together into what eventually became City Museum. A place that no ordinary real estate developer would have ever imagined. But because he was an artist first, he couldn't help but see buildings as potential works of art. The lesson? Don't lock your identity into a single profession, we all have a range of talents and interests that aren't directly related to our profession. Often these are the things that give us perspectives that lead to solutions that nobody else will see. Bob's willingness to also be a real estate developer in addition to an artist allowed him to create one of the most unique institutions in the world.

[@xinghli81]

One of the coolest museums in the world. Never been to a place like it, but upon walking in, I felt as if I have dreamed about it my whole lifetime. To say the city museum is only for kids is to be extremely unimaginative. It is a place for all humans beings, and I mean every word of it.
Most art museums: white walls, ascetic cubical spaces, isolated art objects grouped by individual artists, fragile and protected, kept in distance from the audience
City museum: colorful walls, wall-floor-ceilings fused in together, irregular spatial configurations and topological paradoxes, art objects imbedded in and continuous with the environment, collaborative work between artist teams, hands-on, experiential relationship with the audience, all structures are strong, durable, and even weather-proof

[@maxolack8753]

I miss him. I miss the Museum. It was my second home. I miss everyone and I wish things could have gone differently. I fell in love there. A very special place.

[@JasonMcHenry]

Bob was [and still is] something of a mentor to me and he definitely serves as some sort of artistic/creative compass for me. I can only imagine the things that'd he'd have created in the time since his death. It's pretty cool to see this.

[@Flash-mv8rn]

this is a lovely interview

[@PewterBird]

the way he describes his own passion is as genius as the museum itself. being jealous of music's ability to surround the listener is what inspired him to create a space where physical art could also envelope and overwhelm the viewer. his creative expression couldn't be constrained to an individual canvas or single sculpture. Bob's artwork is a four dimensional, interactive, 360 degree real-time human experience.

[@luviskumara9868]

Rest in peace BobCassilly..I Like you..

[@boringyoutubewatcher]

My hero.

[@sandyhumissouri5131]

The latrine excavation is one of my favorites! My mom said she completely understood why there were dolls in it...she had two sisters. Best way to get even as a kid!

[@cb7s4life]

Amazing lost piece of media

[@bossmanbeast1]

Follow the money. His business partner murdered him.

[@heartofamericafpv5584]

I am working on a project we shot at the city museum with drones last week. Could I get your permission to use clips from this interview in my final edit? Please contact me, [e-mail] Thanks!

[@bossmanbeast1]

Get in touch with bill streeter at hydraulic pictures.