Spencer Bailey

Spencer Bailey
Born (1985-08-18) August 18, 1985
Denver, Colorado
Nationality American
Alma mater Dickinson College,
Columbia University
Occupation Writer, editor, journalist
Website www.spencerbailey.com

Spencer Bailey (born August 18, 1985) is an American writer, editor, and journalist. He has written at length about architecture, art, culture, design, and technology, among other subjects.[1]

Early life

Bailey was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He grew up with his brothers Brandon and Trent in a single-parent household.[2]

United Airlines Flight 232

On July 19, 1989, a month before his fourth birthday, Bailey survived the crash landing of United Airlines Flight 232 in Sioux City, Iowa.[3] His brother Brandon also survived the crash, but their mother, Frances, was one of the 111 passengers who died.[3] Bailey's brother Trent and their father, Brownell, were not on the plane.[4] Bailey is the subject of a famous photograph by Gary Anderson showing Lt. Colonel Dennis Nielsen carrying him to safety.[3] A statue based on the picture is part of the Flight 232 Memorial in Sioux City's riverfront development.[5] Bailey noted in a 2008 interview that the experience of surviving the crash "spawned [his] interest in writing and discovering the experiences of others."[6] Of the statue, in the same interview, Bailey said, "I'm sure often times people go and look at it and they think that I probably passed away. I don't think they probably realize that I'm still alive."

Education

Bailey graduated from Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut, in 2004. He received a B.A. in English from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 2008 and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2010.[7] In the summer of 2009, he studied fiction under Gordon Lish.[2]

Career

2005–2010: Early work

Bailey's first interest in journalism "happened in high school studying fiction and poetry, and then in college, realizing I was never going to make a living writing fiction or poetry, and that I needed an outlet. I eventually ended up working at my college's alumni magazine, Dickinson Magazine."[2] He has cited former Cosmopolitan magazine editor-in-chief Kate White as a mentor.[2]

From January to May 2009, he interned at Esquire.[7] From January to May 2010, while studying at Columbia, he interned at Vanity Fair.[7] In September 2010, he published his first major magazine story, a profile in Poetry Magazine of the poet Timothy Donnelly.[8][9]

2010–2014: Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times Magazine

From 2010 to 2013, Bailey was a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Businessweek, and from 2011 to 2014, The New York Times Magazine.[7]

His first assignment for The New York Times Magazine, in October 2011, led him to spending a night at Zucotti Park and a nearby McDonald's during the Occupy Wall Street movement.[10] Over the next three years, he interviewed authors, celebrities, politicians, and cultural figures such as Al Sharpton,[11] Tony Hawk,[12] Rodney King,[13] and Cyndi Lauper[14] for a "How To ..." column.[1] Bailey's interview with Rodney King was one of King's last before his fiancée found him dead at the bottom of a swimming pool.[15]

2010–2018: Surface Media

From May to August 2010, Bailey worked at The Daily Beast, and in September 2010 he was hired as assistant editor at Surface.[7]

In June 2013, Bailey became editor-in-chief of the magazine.[7] With the July/August 2013 issue—Bailey’s first as editor—Surface unveiled a major design overhaul created with the consultancy Noë & Associates.[16] At Surface, Bailey interviewed hundreds of leading architects, artists, designers, and cultural figures, including David Adjaye,[17] Tadao Ando,[18] Thom Browne,[19] Zaha Hadid,[20] Ian Schrager,[21] and Kanye West.[22] In August 2013, Bailey launched the Design Dialogues conversation series, moderating a talk between Ian Schrager and George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg of Yabu Pushelberg.[23] He conducted nearly 40 Design Dialogues talks, including conversations with Michael Kimmelman and Annabelle Selldorf,[24] Stefan Sagmeister and Jeffrey Deitch,[25] and David Rockwell and Marcel Wanders.[26]

Prior to Bailey taking over as editor of Surface, the magazine was known for covering the "design world"; he pivoted it to covering the world through the lens of design, to appeal to a wider audience. As he told Politico, "We're not a shelter title. We're not a 'lifestyle book.' We're not a trade journal. We're an American general interest magazine and we're bringing design into the larger conversation."[27]

Several Surface interviews by Bailey garnered significant media attention. His interview with the artist Julian Schnabel, published in the November 2013 issue, was quoted in Page Six: "I find less and less that I care if people understand me," Schnabel told Bailey. "I didn’t want to do this interview, but I did it because if people are interested in your work, then you should support them."[28] In an interview Bailey did for the June/July 2014 issue, real estate developer Aby Rosen called Tom Wolfe a "buffoon."[29] His interview with Kanye West, published in the December 2016/January 2017 issue, was covered internationally. Page Six called the conversation between Bailey and West "strange";[30] Billboard called it "thoughtful."[31]

In November 2016, Pointed Leaf Press published the book Tham ma da: The Adventurous Interiors of Paola Navone, which Bailey wrote and edited.[32]

In January 2017, Bailey was named editorial director of Surface Media.[33] In May 2018, Bailey announced he was leaving Surface Media.[34][35]

2018–Present

In July 2018, Bailey was named a contributing editor at Town & Country, where he covers architecture and design.[36]

Slow Design and Slow Media

Bailey is a proponent for “Slow Design,” or, as he has put it, “design that’s timeless and made to last, and done thoughtfully, with intent, and with care for our planet.”[8][2]

Bailey has also advocated for “Slow Media.” “We need media that allows people to slow down, to turn inward, and to think about things on a deeper level,” he told Directions magazine in 2018, describing it as “almost the equivalent of eating at a farm-to-table restaurant, but instead of eating with your mouth, you’re eating with your eyes.”[37]

References

  1. 1 2 "Spencer Bailey". spencerbailey.com. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "IN DIALOGUE // SPENCER BAILEY & TRENT DAVIS BAILEY".
  3. 1 2 3 "Flight 232: Snapshots of tragedy and triumph". Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  4. ↑ "Spencer Bailey, alive and well and ... a journalist, of course". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Flight 232 Memorial and Statue – Sioux City, IA.
  6. ↑ "19 years later, crash survivor is college graduate". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Spencer Bailey LinkedIn".
  8. 1 2 "Spencer Bailey, editor, New York".
  9. ↑ "Head in the Clouds".
  10. ↑ "Occupying McDonald's, About 4:30 A.M., Near Zuccotti Park, New York".
  11. ↑ "How to Give a Speech".
  12. ↑ "How to Take a Risk".
  13. ↑ "How to Find Inner Peace".
  14. ↑ "How to Stay Famous".
  15. ↑ "What Rodney King Said During One of His Final Interviews". spencerbailey.com. nytimes.com. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  16. ↑ (June, 2015). "Two Years Surface Magazine" Noë & Associates. Retrieved August 10, 2016
  17. ↑ "David Adjaye on Architecture, Africa, and Atmosphere". Article. Surface. September 22, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Eternal Tadao Ando". Article. Surface. February 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Thom Browne's Steady Hand". Article. Surface. February 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Legends: Zaha Hadid". Article. Surface. March 31, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Ian Schrager's Massive Appeal". Article. Surface. June 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Kanye West: Free Form". Article. Surface. November 20, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Design Dialogues No. 2". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "Surface and Pratt Design Dialogue with Annabelle Selldorf and Michael Kimmelman". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Pratt Presents Series Features Jeffrey Deitch and Stefan Sagmeister in Conversation". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  26. ↑ "Design Dialogues No. 20". Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "The 60-second interview: Spencer Bailey, editor in chief of Surface magazine".
  28. ↑ Page Six Team, (October 21, 2013) "Julian Schnabel to have first large-scale art show since ’87". Page Six. Retrieved August 10, 2016
  29. ↑ Mohr, Ian. (June 3, 2014) "Aby Rosen blasts Tom Wolfe as ‘a buffoon’". Page Six. Retrieved August 10, 2016
  30. ↑ "Kanye gave strange interview before canceling tour dates".
  31. ↑ "Watch Kanye West's Thoughtful Interview on the Music Industry, Emojis & Design With 'Surface' Magazine".
  32. ↑ "Tham ma da". Tham ma da: The Adventurous Interiors of Paola Navone. Pointed Leaf Press. 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Surfaces Promotes Spencer Bailey".
  34. ↑ "Why I'm Leaving Surface Media After Eight Incredible Years".
  35. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Surface Magazine Lands $2M in Seed Funding as EIC Departs".
  36. ↑ "Nina Garcia, Stellene Volandes Bulk Up Elle, Town & Country Mastheads".
  37. ↑ "Spencer Bailey on the need for "slow media"".
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