About the Artist…
John Hillding, aka Bill Ding, is a Seattle native. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1966, and a Master of Fine Arts on a Rhinehart Fellowship from the Maryland Institute College of Arts in 1968. John is a well-known Washington State artist who, as a member of T.R. Uthco, took part in the famous Media Burn event of 1975. John was one of the founders of Seattle’s music festival Bumbershoot, and was a professor at The Art Institute of Seattle for 25+ years. John’s 50-year career as an artist includes many memorable inflatables.
According to John,
“My fifteen minutes of fame came at an event for the opening of a show at the Seattle Art Museum: SAM & Andy. Andy Warhol asked to meet the artist responsible for the inflatable sculpture. He said if I came to New York he had a club, Studio 54, where he could set me up. My biggest regret was not documenting this moment of “celebrity” with America’s greatest icon of Pop culture”.
