As we roll out a new security program, we say goodbye to 33 full-time and 23 part-time security officers whose positions have been eliminated. These individuals served with diligence and care, and they helped to keep our visitors and our artwork safe for years, and in some cases decades. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet the objectives of enhancing security at 100 Acres; responding to potentially serious incidents that arise on the IMA campus, and reducing the cost of the security program with the previous staffing model.

What is the new program?

The new model enables protection of visitors and artwork through its three distinct job functions: campus police officers; communications and monitoring specialists; and visitor assistants.

1. A key component of the program is the campus police force made up of 14 officers. The officers, who are reserve officers of area police forces, are employees of the IMA, and they provide patrols of the campus as well as security to the museum. Their patrol cars and uniforms identify them as police officers, and their presence also will serve to deter crime. Should an incident that requires a police response occur at the IMA, we no longer need to call the police and wait for them to respond. Our campus police officers are able to take police reports and follow other police protocols.
2. The communications and monitoring function uses an elaborate electronic surveillance system to monitor museum galleries and outdoor areas.
3. The visitor assistants are trained ambassadors of the museum experience; they are posted throughout museum galleries and the rest of the campus. The visitor assistant staff, which is composed of students from a federally funded work study program at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), will provide enhanced customer service as they will be available to answer questions or assist visitors throughout the IMA’s 152 acres.

We also have added two Emergency Medical Technicians who are able to respond to medical needs that arise in 100 Acres or elsewhere on the campus.

Why did we implement a new security program?

1. This summer we opened 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. The park has been filled with visitors since opening day, and it requires an ongoing security presence.
2. The IMA has a reputation for being a safe place. Regrettably, we’d seen some incidents that could threaten that reputation.  We’ve had numerous car break-ins, and we had been unable to curb that problem, despite increased security patrols.
3. The security department makes up a large percentage of the IMA’s payroll, and in an effort to budget efficiently and effectively, we had to substantially reduce the cost of our security personnel budget.

This new model for the IMA’s security department was envisioned by Nick Cameron, the IMA’s Chief Operating Officer and was thoroughly vetted by IMA staff and public safety and security professionals. For several weeks, Martin Whitfield, the IMA’s Director of Security, has worked with a team to staff the new positions, and to ensure that all team members are properly trained.

As times have changed and our museum and its campus have grown, so too must our security measures.  This new program is necessary in order to better protect the 152 acre campus.  Implementing the new program was a process not undertaken lightly. We are sincerely grateful for the years of service that our security officers dedicated to the IMA, and we are providing outplacement services and other benefits to them.

Image from toxel.com

While roaming the Internet one day, I ran across a design website with photos of fun coffee mugs of all shapes and sizes. It made me think of our newly opened European Design exhibit, and work, and drinking coffee since that’s what I do at work–drink coffee.

I found some more interesting websites about coffee, especially ones where coffee intersects with art and design. And I thought back to the old days when our coffee arrangement here at the IMA was entirely different. Cue the harp sound effects and wavy visual for a flashback…

Back in the day, the IMA was a different place. Security was a brand new department with all its damn rules and procedures, and the staff lounge was on the Service Level (basement, for the uninitiated), now the Art Viewing room. Coffee was free and the Bunn always had a pot of Joe on the warmer, thanks to Marty Krause, our Prints and Drawings curator. You see, smoking was allowed in the break room back then, and Marty had a reserved table where he smoked his pipe, wrote on his legal pads, and answered the phone (usually calls for him).

Staff from all departments would come in at various times of the day to grab a cup of java and sit and chat with whomever was present at the time. Conversations were often lively and wide-ranging, and everyone could get to know the new security people. The officers guzzled coffee to stay alert while working 12-hour shifts.

Move to the present and we find that coffee is no longer freely supplied by the museum. As a result, various departments have their own coffee and coffee makers. In addition, departments which once lined the corridor along with the old break room have now been moved up and away, a sort of urban flight which has impacted cross-department chit chat. Add a new location for the staff lounge, a new café, and new technologies like Twitter, Facebook, and this site and you have a situation where staff is more inclined to stay in their own neighborhood, so to speak, instead of venturing out and having casual, face-to-face interactions with co-workers.

The idea of a “coffee break” was to get workers away from their activities in order to relax and refresh themselves. With a combination of economic needs (no free coffee), restructuring (department relocations), and new technologies (Twitter) the chance for workers to relax, share ideas, and entertain each other has been reduced.

Now, I find myself refilling my mug and either conversing with my own staff or returning to my desk to check email, the IMA blog, or get my political news fix. I have the luxury of being able to get out and wander the building and grounds, and speak with other folks, but too often my interactions are limited to email or meetings. I miss the days of sitting in the break room listening to travel stories, tales from the C.I.A., and hearing about who fell asleep on post. Sigh.

Image from toxel.com

I’ll try not to belabor the point with too many statistics, but in sheer square footage – 669,000 and change in the main building – the IMA ranks in the top ten out of about 230 other art museums. That’s a lot of square footage our security officers have to patrol each day, 24/7/365. And in that space is an art collection of roughly 54,000 pieces of art from all over the world and from all time periods.

Now, numerous other institutions have bigger buildings or more artwork, so let me add a few other amenities that the IMA has: a reference library, studio/education space, retail and dining areas, the 500-seat Deer-Zink events pavilion, and The Toby, a 600-seat theater to augment our warm-weather outdoor amphitheater.

IMA's campus and LOVE

If that’s not impressive, the IMA sits on a 50-acre landscaped campus with garden paths and outdoor artwork including the world-famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture . Also on this campus is the Garden Terrace events pavilion, a venue for smaller wedding receptions and meetings; the 1330 House, a temporary residence for visiting scholars and couriers; and Newfields, office space for our horticulture staff and home to the Horticulture Society’s reference library.

It is a rare thing that a museum has its own national historic landmark, as the IMA does in Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens. I always enjoy taking new officers to Lilly for a tour from Bradley Brooks, curator and director of the house.

In terms of off-campus, let’s take a cruise past Westerley, the 5-acre IMA director’s residence. During the Gifts of the Tsars exhibition back in 2001, the IMA utilized the house for temporary housing of several Russian couriers. Security staffed the house, prompting me to refer to it as Best Westerley. Presently, we monitor the security systems and perform other tasks as requested by the director.

To complete the tour, I’ll mention the “100 Acres,” the Art & Nature Park to the west of the museum. Surprise, it’s a 100-acre plot of land with a big lake (I’ve heard 40 acres). Even though official construction has been delayed, the park is still open for dog walking and Frisbee throwing. Naked jogging is frowned upon, however.

Mindy and the jogger

There you have it, 150 acres of artsy goodness with two, count ‘em, national historic landmark properties, a mini-hotel for scholars, theater space for year-round films and concerts, two reference libraries, and an awesome director’s residence. Combine that with a variety of events and programs and our significant presence on the Web, and there is no doubt we have a world-class museum in our midst. Hugs & Kisses on Valentine’s Day.

Contemporary art is frequently made up of everyday materials and items familiar to normal, everyday people. As such, visitors are not always sure how to react to the art and oftentimes behave contrary to what we would wish. IMA has artwork composed of everything from TVs (Nam June Paik), projectors (Kara Walker), and common furniture (Vito Acconci, Bill Woodrow) to electronic signs (Jenny Holzer) and neon lights (Robert Irwin, soon). We even have flat art on the floor instead of on the wall (Adrian Schiess). Visitors want to sit on the furniture and play with the electronic equipment. They want to TOUCH the stuff, for crying out loud!

A couple of years ago, we had an exhibition by the Brazilian artist, Ernesto Neto, who’s work illustrates some of the many security-related issues that often have to be addressed with new art. One room of the exhibition was completely covered in red cotton fabric, with thick foam on the floor as a cushy surface to walk on. Inside the room was another conversation area surrounded by more hanging fabric, with chairs, suspended lights, and a notebook with a pencil on a string. There were also several red plastic balls and a giant beanbag chair in the room. It looked like a fantasy playroom, minus the Wii.

The installation was big and complex, and took several late nights for the artist, his assistants, and museum staff to complete. Adjustments had to be made to after-hours procedures to ensure that the workers could get around in the empty and secured building. Stuff had to be turned on, turned off, and unlocked, and Security officers had to be assigned to monitor the late-night activity. It messed with our routine and we’re all about routine.

The red material on the walls, floor, and ceiling looked cool but it completely covered the smoke detectors and sprinklers, not to mention the surveillance cameras and other security devices. Electric cords (heat-producing items) ran under the foam floor and plugged into the wall sockets. The cotton material was not flame retardant, and the foam beads in the giant beanbag were highly flammable. Needless to say, we had to do considerable prep work with local fire officials to placate them and ensure a safe environment for our visitors. I think I even mentioned bribe money at one point.

Once the exhibit was opened, explaining the level of interactivity to patrons was a consistent challenge. Neto’s intentions were for visitors to sit in the chairs, gently roll the balls around, and contemplate the crimson-draped environment. Visitors’ intentions were to set the kids free to play dodge ball in the big red rumpus room. “It’s artwork not a playroom,” was our usual approach. We had to remind many, many people not to throw the balls and not to jump onto the giant beanbag, which experienced daily blowouts due to unauthorized diving. And even though there was a blank notebook with an attached pencil, we discovered that it was not intended for patrons to actually jot notes or comments in the book. Color us confused.

So there you have it. Unlike hanging a painting on the wall, Protection Services plays a significant role throughout the process of acquiring, installing, and displaying contemporary art. Security staff gets to step up and help explain real-world application when curators (and artists) aren’t up on OSHA regulations, and gallery officers get to guide the visitor experience when patrons don’t understand why they can’t play with the stuff in the galleries.

That’s what makes museum security so very interesting. Well, that and all the cool spy stuff we get to use.

For instance, I found this nifty piece of automotive hardware that our officers would just love to drive. The Tesla Roadster is an all-electric vehicle capable of 0-60 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 125 mph, good even compared to internal combustion cars. Who wouldn’t want to be seen tooling around the IMA campus in one of these drop-top babies? Alas, the $100K price tag would be difficult to slip into the capital budget without any CFO having an arterial incident. And really, where could the Tesla hit top speed… maybe by the Lilly House, but why bother?

More suited to our needs would be the Miles ZX40, a steel uni-body construction, all electric four-door able to hit a blazing 25 mph top speed.

With the optional AC motor, the Miles ZX40 would travel about 50 miles on a charge and be able to power an air conditioner and CD player, both musts for our patrol officers. The ZX40 would offer low-cost, low-maintenance, zero-emission service while also providing an eco-friendly image to our museum visitors.

I’ve also been able to test-drive the Global Electric Motorcars GEM car. The GEMs are zero-emission electric cars capable of about 20 mph. They look cool, drive smoothly, seem to be well constructed (though with a lot of fiberglass), and they are everywhere. I’ve seen them at hotels, resorts, and airports, but mostly in warm climates. I like the steel, DOT certified construction of the ZX40 better, though.

More recently, I’ve had the local Segway vendor come to the museum to demonstrate the two-wheeler’s capabilities. It’s a neat little unit and they are becoming more and more common around town (Circle Center Mall, Metropolis, Downtown Canal tours), but they don’t fit in well with our patrol needs. Two words: Indiana weather.

As I said, getting vehicles has been one of the snags in my grand plan for shifting to alternatives. Finding the funds to purchase new vehicles has been, as we say in the business, a challenge. We’re still pursuing that avenue but it’s starting to look like I’ll have to organize a few (thousand) bake sales to make the money we’ll need to acquire new wheels.

During the period that I have been seeking new modes of patrol, Security has come into possession of two Trek mountain bikes with full police packages.

They each have red and blue flashing lights and an annoying siren suitable for pulling over speeding staff members. You don’t get much cheaper zero-emissions transportation than a bicycle. However, finding the personnel to pedal the bikes has been snag number two in my plan.

Needless to say, the search goes on to find cheaper and environmentally friendly patrol options for Security. The end result will probably be a combination of foot, bike, and electric car patrol to meet all the various needs of our department, and the museum. However, if there’s someone out there who would like to buy us a Tesla, I wouldn’t turn it down ‘cause I don’t think I’ll be hitting a jackpot any time soon.

The Communication Specialists who work in Control are responsible for monitoring everything and everybody. To accomplish this grand task, Control is equipped with video systems, audio systems, HVAC systems, fire systems, and alarm systems. It has a biometric security system and a multi-channel radio station. It even has a freakin’ drive-up window! I can’t give away all the secret stuff, like the GPS tracking chips we embed in every new staff member, but here’s a little history of the Control Room.

Here I am in the old Control Room sometime back in the 90′s. I spent a lot of years in this room and did some of my best work in there (more about that later).

The room was decked out with sixty-four 8-inch black & white TV monitors and a monochrome alarm computer with the brainpower of a gnat. We had fewer people with radios back then so we only had two channels with which to talk to Security or Maintenance, Housekeeping and Grounds. The room itself was a cracker box, with a two-foot square pillar set dead in the middle of the room. We sat so close to the electronics I swear I’m sterile from all the years of exposure to electro-magnetic radiation.

It was in this room that I created numerous versions of my underground newsletter slash web site in which I gave my sarcastic nature full rein. I made fun of my coworkers, other departments, and all the brilliant decisions management made along the way. Oh, and I made fun of the art. After a comment from Bo Bufore, the IMA’s Shipping and Receiving guru, I created my now well-known cartoon Mindy In Control. Decked out in her security uniform and fuzzy slippers, Mindy (now our new Safety Manager, Mindy Summers) held court from her comfy recliner in the Control Room. She said things no one else dared to utter.

I also created Skeeter & Bubba, the most famous maintenance men in the world, who went on to become the most famous maintenance men on the Internet. Some folks have been here long enough to remember the golden days of my toons being available to the public. Needless to say, I was chastised several times by my superiors and had to periodically pull the stuff from circulation.

In 1999, Control got an upgrade. At the butt-end of the Millennium we finally went to color cameras and monitors. We went from the small B&W monitors to 14-inch and 24-inch monitors. We also got two Gateway computers for processing alarms and for word processing. No more killing trees for paperwork, and no more trying to decipher my partnerʼs handwriting.

Today, the Control Room sports 42-inch flat-screen monitors for viewing our nearly two hundred cameras. The alarm software has been updated. More people carry radios so our radio base station has been upgraded to eight channels. There is Internet access for monitoring weather radar, and there is enough room to play half-court basketball.

Because of all the surveillance equipment, Control is often referred to as Big Brother but we like to think of ourselves as Santa’s helpers, watching who’s being naughty and nice. Either way remember, someone is always watching so be careful where you scratch.