Work with Richard Hunt As an adolescent, Ott was introduced to Hunt by his parents. Later, he purchased a small sculpture of his. Hunt attended Ott's wedding in 2004, which came as a surprise, since they had only met a few times prior. In 2019, Ott began interviewing Hunt to learn more about his art and life, and traveled with him on several art-focused trips, as well. Hunt wrote to Ott on March 28, 2023, stating that "I want you to know I consider you my 'official biographer.' Your research and our dialogue put you in the unique position of being more knowledgeable of my history than any other person." Ott has conducted over one hundred hours of interviews and compiled a comprehensive chronology of Hunt's life and work, which was published in the 2022
monograph,
Richard Hunt (Gregory Miller & Co). Ott has given gallery talks and participated in panel discussions about Hunt's work at major national arts institutions including the
Chicago History Museum (Chicago, IL), the
Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX), the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL), and
White Cube Bermondsey (London, UK). Ott has been a recurring guest on
National Public Radio, where he's been interviewed about Richard Hunt's life and career, and his 2024 exhibition titled
Freedom in Form, at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. In a quote published in
The New York Times, Ott indicates Hunt's drive for social justice and liberation, stating that, "That really set the tone for his entire artistic life, which was really focused around representing freedom, and freedom in every sense." In 2023, the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation was established as a nonprofit arts organization. Ott is a founding board member and vice chair of the foundation. When the Public Art Archive published a database to document Richard Hunt's public works of art, Ott served as a content curator and collaborator for the project.
International Sculpture Center In 2020, Ott was appointed as the International Sculpture Center's Chairman of the Board of Trustees to serve a three-year term. Richard Hunt was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2009. == Bibliography ==