Greg Esser is the director of Arizona State University’s Desert Initiative, a project that connects desert regions through art. Before participating in a panel on the future of Phoenix, he sat down in the green room to talk haircuts, surprises, and skydiving.
Q. How much do you pay for a haircut?
A. I don’t. I cut my own hair. It’s part of the belt-tightening measures of the last recession.
Q. What inspires you?
A. I can find inspiration in almost anything-unexpected moments and surprises inspire me. I’m difficult to surprise.
Q. What’s your favorite desert animal?
A. I would have to say people. And there is a growing number of us.
Q. What’s hanging on your living room walls?
A. Prints by artists I’ve worked with over the years.
Q. What’s the last thing you splurged on?
A. A trip to southern Arizona.
Q. What’s the strangest thing on your bucket list?
A. Skydiving.
Q. What Arizona food shouldn’t visitors miss?
A. The enchilada-style green chile burrito at Rita’s in downtown Phoenix.
Q. What city has the greatest public art in the world?
A. I’d probably say Paris.
Q. How did you get into trouble as a child?
A. I was particularly drawn to explosives.
Q. What frustrates you?
A. Bureaucracy.
Q. When are you at your most creative?
A. Late at night.
*Photo by Felipe Ruiz-Acosta.