Hillman Curtis: Artist's Video

Milton Glaser is an artist with his own philosophy on design. In the short video created by Hillman Curtis, Glaser says, "I've always believed that the life of a designer is a life that is very much between two sets of beliefs -- that of the businessman and that of the artist. And everybody kind of has a sense of where they fit in that spectrum." He then goes on to speak more of his beliefs, "My belief is that if you like Mozart and I like Mozart, we already have something in common. So the likelihood of our killing each other has been diminished. That art performs this pacifying function in culture." This belief goes hand-in-hand with Glaser's other belief that art creates commonalities between people. In order to further explain that art brings people together, Glaser quotes a man named Louis Hyde, "This is what artists do in culture: they provide this gift to the culture so people don't kill each other." Overall, Glaser believes that art brings people together and creates a sense of harmony in order for people to get along -- or in his words "not kill each other."

Something neat about Milton Glaser is that he teaches art. When asked why he teaches, Glaser answered, "Fundamentaly I teach because it makes me feel good. It's helped me certainly clarify my own objectives." He loves seeing people change through art and design. He believes there is a responsibility to create good citizenship and you can do this through graphic art. He believes "you want to do things that have some relationship to your community, your family, your country, the world." And he believes you can do this through art. I completely agree.

Glaser also believes that people lose their astonishment for the world, and he feels blessed that he still has that astonishment when it comes to art and his profession. He really feels passionate about art and design, so passionate that he teaches others the passions art and design can bring to this world. Milton Glaser has a unique and fascinating philosophy on art and design, one that many of us could learn a thing or two from.

I found the video on Milton Glaser at this website: http://www.hillmancurtis.com/index.php?/film/watch/milton_glaser/.