Learn more about art director Billy Murray, as he talks about his penchant for making spaces look amazing on a small budget, and his life with the Ringling Brothers.
1. What is your hidden talent?
I possess a quality that enables me to be able to make something look bomb on a budget. I'm a sucker for flipping house shows and other craft-driven game shows like RuPaul's Drag Race, of course. I once built a chromadepth 3D haunted house aboard the Ringling Bros circus train out of table clothes, gaff tape, recycled cardboard and black light paint.
2. What does your ideal workstation look like?
My ideal workspace is a refinished vintage desk with a view out of outdoors. Multiple plants, like, a shit ton of plants. A plant on my desk, a plant in a cute ass pot on the floor next to my desk, a plant hanging in the corner and fresh flowers on the table. My office couch is decked out with mismatched throw pillows where I nap to recharge after lunch, and it sits across from my fully stocked glass door refrigerator filled with all my favorite shit to drink like San Pelligrino, Red Bull and AT LEAST a 6-pack of beer.
3. What is your favorite book?
This one's easy. Facebook. I'd much rather click a link to a short article that interests me instead of invest in a story that I might not love and never end up finishing. I barely even like going to the movies for this same reason. Gimme episodes and I'll watch 15 straight. Anyway, Facebook has become a major asset to our everyday lives and it is a tool that I personally utilize before I even visit a company's website nowadays. If you want to know what my favorite piece of literature is, then be more specific with your questions and you won't have a rebel like me flapping their bitch gums.
4. What do you consider your greatest achievement (so far)?
I'm going to have with go with Ringling Bros clown for this one. Some people might think being a clown is a joke, but if you lived in my shoes for a minute, you'd know that it is a lifestyle commitment. I always aim to make people around me smile and laugh whether I am in makeup or out of makeup. Now, if you think about how many professional baseball players there are, there are kind of a lot, but it is still highly respected upon to play your way onto a big league team. There are only 25 total spots for a clown contract with Ringling so, to me and other pro-clowns, that's the big league.
5. Why do you consider yourself a rebel?
I have always worked for huge corporations but I always find my way to rebel out against the rules and literally shake my ass right on that line. I'm a rebel because I don't fit the mold and stand out among the rest. I create new paths, ideas, and techniques in whatever I do.
