For fun: Black velvet Elvis or dogs playing poker? Get to know two museum directors

Even a profile of people like the new directors of the Wichita Art Museum and the Ulrich Museum of Art can’t show a full picture of personalities, but a round of “this or that” can help.

First up is Anne Kraybill, who started as WAM’s new director and CEO on Aug. 15.

Black velvet Elvis or dogs playing poker?

“Black velvet Elvis. My stepfather’s a huge fan of Elvis. I’ve always had kind of Elvis paraphernalia around my house.”

Vintage or modern?

“Ooh, modern, but, like, postmodern. That’s a hard question. . . . Postmodern, which could technically fall under vintage. Streamlines, clean design.”

Indoor or outdoor?

“If it’s in Wichita, indoor.” She quickly rephrased. “I mean, outdoor if the weather’s beautiful.”

Venus with her arms or without?

“With.”

Abstract or realist?

“Mmm, realist just because I am just such a fan of figurative. . . . I love abstract, too.”

Two dimensional or three?

“Probably two. “ (See figurative above, she noted.)

Tacos or burritos?

“Tacos. More variety.”

Pho or Campbell’s?

“Pho.”

West Coast or East Coast?

“These are hard. . . . East Coast if I’m feeling nostalgic. West Coast if I’m feeling adventurous.”

Dogs or cats?

“I have a dog, a cat and a bird, so birds.”

Morning or night?

“Morning. I walk every morning, and it’s just how I clear my head, and it makes me feel that the day is so full of potential.”

Fiction or nonfiction?

“Fiction. If I’m going to read, it’s definitely . . . to escape.”

Instagram or Twitter?

“Instagram. Twitter is toxic.”

Messy Desk or clean?

“Messy. I just, I haven’t even figured out where to put things.”

Predictability or excitement?

“Excitement.”

Toilet paper over or under?

“Oh, my God, this is so funny. My husband and I just talked about this. It needs to be over, and I apparently put it on wrong the other day.”

Next up, there’s Vivian Zavataro, who started her job as Ulrich creative and executive director on Oct. 16.

Black velvet Elvis or dogs playing poker?

“Dogs playing poker. . . . I love dogs. . . . Sometimes when I’m stressed out or I’m going through a hard time, I just go online and look at animal memes, especially dog memes.”

Vintage or modern?

“Ooh, that’s a hard one. I’d say a mix of both. . . . The way I decorate my house is this kind of paradox between vintage and modern. I do that through my curation as well.”

Indoor or outdoor?

“Outdoor. . . . I love rock climbing. I love connecting with nature. It really grounds me and reminds me that as humans we’re so little. It’s a check on my ego in a sense.”

Venus with her arms or without?

“Without because it shows the history of that piece.”

Abstract or realist?

“Abstract. I like the emotion . . . that abstraction can portray through . . . brushstrokes, through textures, through colors.”

Two dimensional or three?

“Two dimensional. I connect more with art . . . that can be hung for some reason.”

Tacos or burritos?

“Burritos have been my favorite for a really long time, but now I’m in a taco phase. I like the crunchiness of it.”

Pho or Campbell’s?

“Oh, definitely pho. I really like the beef pho that comes with the raw beef.” She likes cooking it herself by placing it in the steaming broth. “It makes you a little chef for a second.”

West Coast or East Coast?

“I like the city life in (the) East Coast, but I like the outdoors in the West Coast.”

Dogs or cats?

“We only have a dog because my husband is allergic to cats.” Her 4-year-old, Ines, desperately wants a cat, though. Zavataro explained to her daughter why that would be bad for her father. Ines replied, “I know, but he can sleep outside.”

Morning or night?

“Night. I’m a night owl for sure. I hate waking up.”

Fiction or nonfiction?

“Fiction. I like fiction for . . . relaxation so you can take your mind off work, but I definitely read more nonfiction.”

Instagram or Twitter?

“Instagram. . . . I think I have a Twitter, but I’ve never . . . really used it.”

Messy Desk or clean?

“Clean desk for sure. I cannot work with a messy desk, but I do have a messy desk often.”

Predictability or excitement?

“Excitement. So I definitely work better in that fast-paced environment that (is) exciting and changing.”

Toilet paper over or under?

“Oh, over for sure. I guess it comes from Brazil. You don’t know if there’s, like, a spider underneath, and if it’s over, you can see it. So I guess it’s a bit of a neurotic thought.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 4:47 AM.