Prelude:
How a computer combined with a passion for art and an unbeatable spirit resulted in one of the most talented artist/entrepreneur’s of the New Millennium.
On Wednesday, November 6th, 2002, I attended the Meet The Makers seminar at the Millennium Broadway in New York City. The guest list included senior executives from companies such as AT&T, ABC, Clear Channel, Comedy Central and MTV. None, though, more compelling than the guest whose name many readers of this article have never heard before.
Summary:
Hillman Curtis, well known in the design industry, is a respected artist and a true inspiration. He has tried almost every job from waiter, bar tender and caterer to rock star. After this wide variety of career endeavors, he found what would prove to be his true love, Web design. Many twists of fate, dating back to his early childhood, resulted in various changes to Hillman’s life path. Some seemingly devastating events resulted in a very positive outcome.
Hillman forged himself forward and would eventually establish himself as a high-level Flash developer. His recent resume includes Sun Microsystems, WebTV, RazorFish, MTV, RollingStone.com, Lycos, British Airways and inspirational speaker at the most recent Meet The Makers seminar.
His new book, “MTIV: Process, Inspiration, and Practice for the New Media Designer,” is intended to inspire designers, but Hillman’s life story will also prove to be motivational for readers across a wide spectrum of interests. Herein lies a snapshot of his life pinpointing seemingly minor events responsible, in part, for the transformation of a rock star into a Flash star.
History:
Hillman Curtis grew up in the inner city of San Francisco. His very name itself seems to foreshadow an extraordinary future. The name, Hillman Curtis, is an inventive combination of his maternal and paternal family surnames, Hillman and Curtis, in respective order. Hillman lightly joked about the combination of the Hillman ancestry which he described as, “Russian-Jewish,” juxtaposed with that of the Curtis family described as, “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.”
His mother, whom he affectionately refers to as, “amazing,” was an Art and English teacher. She raised Hillman and his two sisters as a single mother since he was two years of age. He saw his father only a few weeks per year. Early in his childhood Hillman learned to overcome challenges presented by life. As a son of a single mom, growing up as a white minority in a predominantly black community, and the middle child between two sisters, he was challenged regularly. Part of Hillman’s day included carefully planning his route to, and from, school to avoid conflicts with other children in the community.
A large part of Hillman’s artistic influence was his stepfather, an art teacher, who became a part of his life at ten years of age. He provided more stability in Hillman’s life and provided newer influences to Hillman such as an historic book collection. The books included a collection of World War II propaganda that contained artwork produced by the war machines of the era including France, Germany and the United States.
Jokingly I asked if there was a small bit of propaganda in all his work, he laughed and replied, “I hope not.” Ironically though propaganda, as negative as its connotations might be, especially when used following the word Nazi, is nonetheless marketing. Marketing used by the axis and allies to sell their product, in this case, their ideas and an entire way of life. Propaganda leaflets were disseminated over Great Britain and Germany by airplane, balloon and rocket, both in peacetime and wartime. One such notable instance was faked copies of Life Magazine created by Germany and dropped by air to Allied troops. To read more about this topic go to Google.com and search for “World War II Propaganda” exactly as it is underlined, with the quotes, for the most relevant results.
Hillman’s early work, fliers and other marketing material for bands, still reflected some of the style and look of the propaganda material. His artistic family influences combined with his awe of artwork produced as far back as WWII seemingly predestined him to an artistic future. He was a singer/songwriter in two rock bands, Mrs. Green, 1986 to 1989, and The Greenthings, 1990 to 1994. Hillman was signed to produce a record by MCA Records in 1992. The band split and no record was produced. Hillman refers back to it as an event that, at the time, was devastating. To come so close to such a huge dream, you can taste it, then it’s gone.
To the contrary, in the ashes of one dream stood the vision of another. This apparent defeat would later prove to be the turning point resulting in Hillman producing marketing material for bands. In fact, Hillman used money from this work to invest in himself as a Flash producer. Hillman stepped into a world that continues to transform the way we view media. He took part in placing media on a more exciting path and the transformation was underway. Not just for an industry, but for a new media entrepreneur.
He earned $15,000 when one of his songs aired on the popular television show Beverly Hills 90210. In 1995 he parlayed the $15,000 into an old computer, Adobe Photoshop(c) and Director(c). The legacy was born.
His most recent resume includes music videos including work for Boys Against Girls currently running on MTV2. To find a direct link to the band go to Google.com and search for +MTV2 +”Girls Against Boys” exactly as it is underlined, with quotes and addition signs, for the most relevant results.
Hillman now has the freedom to carefully choose the jobs he accepts. He chooses jobs that fulfill his artistic integrity and are lucrative either cash-wise or ‘soul-wise.’ He recently began production on two more music videos for Super Drag and Creeper Lagoon and will manage Web design for a micro-site for Fox SearchLight.
Hillman said he draws inspiration from, “…quotes from other artists, the photographers, PL diCorcial and Gregory Crewdson and books/articles my wife turns me onto. I do get a ton of inspiration in my travels. …I’m a nervous flyer and I don’t like being far away from my family, but that puts me in a very different state of mind and often opens my eyes a bit. Of course talking to other people [like] strangers at these conferences and gatherings is very compelling.” In a nutshell he draws from talented other people at gatherings, from other work, etc. As with anything, increasing your network, both personally and professionally, is a key ingredient to success.
Editorial:
Hillman Curtis represents the unstoppable spirit of Americans who refuse to accept defeat and always manage to rise victoriously from what appears to be certain defeat. The single biggest flaw in the logic of those who challenge the USA is the erroneous held belief that Americans won’t stand up in the face of a challenge. We regularly prove them incorrect, and will continue to do so.
Rob Thrasher is an internationally published author, reaching up to one
million readers each month. He is co-founder of XM Mail Server, at
http://www.xmmailserver.com, and founder of the New Millennium Minds
Blog. http://www.cybervillage.com/blog/
