Brent Bruner Smaller
Brent Bruner
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
I know this may seem simplistic, but I would have to go with the Golden Rule – treat everyone the way that you would like to be treated. This is so basic but it seems that it is often forgotten today. I realize that this doesn’t specifically resolve problems or issues, but it sure eases the way to a resolution. Always try to remember this at the airport when your flight has been canceled.
What is a memorable gift you received on a special occasion?
That would be this year – my partner Matt Carter gave me a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for my fiftieth birthday. It was truly one of those “life-changing” trips. It was so different than, let’s say, a trip to Europe, where we are familiar with the food, the history, the religion and even the languages to some extent. The people we met were truly happy for us to be there and they told us often. Although I have always loved to travel, this trip has lingered with me and made me thirsty for more adventurous travel.
If you were on a deserted island for the foreseeable future, what three things would you have to have in your backpack to make life livable?
Let’s see – a few good books would be essential, sunscreen (obvious, but I burn easily) and a great bottle of wine. Hopefully there is also a great hotel on this “deserted” island.
What was the worst job you ever had?
I can’t really say I’ve ever had a “worst” job. I look at it this way – everywhere you work and everyone you work with provides life lessons that develop and define who you are, both personally and professionally. Hopefully you take new experiences and relationships with you after each job and are a better person because of it.
What is a favorite vacation spot or activity?
There are two very different types of vacations that I love equally – and your question sets it up perfectly. The first place that always springs to mind is Harbour Island in the Bahamas. You can only reach it by boat and once you get there the only transportation is by golf cart. Life really does slow down – and there are wonderful people, beautiful beaches, no large-scale development and best of all – great food. The second is the complete opposite – I love exploring big, crowded, noisy cities. Getting lost and discovering new places in a city is exhilarating to me. There’s nothing like finding a hidden little-known architectural gem or that perfect hole-in-the-wall café that you want to tell everyone about.
What piece of art would you own if you could?
Wow, that’s a huge question. I could certainly see Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture in my backyard or maybe a Robert Irwin light sculpture in my office, but if I have to choose only one “famous” piece of art, it would be a Caravaggio painting. Any Caravaggio. I don’t know how to explain it but his paintings are just so powerful in movement and scale. I’ll never forget seeing my first one in Rome some years ago – it was in a dark chapel that required you to drop a few coins in a machine and then with a bang a spotlight would come on and illuminate the painting. It seemed cheesy at the time but now that I think about it, it was a pretty good special effect.