Supergraphics- residential

Super-Graphics

As a moonlight project, while employed as an inventor at the Kodak Research Laboratories, I (Steve Hines) was commissioned to paint “super graphics” in the home of Ray Kicklighter, my supervisor at Kodak. Red lines follow the walls and hallway, and I painted the family beside the stairway.

Steve, painting the family on the wall of the stairs, with Ray carrying a chamber-stick candle holder.

The graphics became a focal point in their home and was used in their Christmas cards.

My college major was in Industrial Design, a broad-based program which included engineering, physics, ergonomics and aesthetics. Ray asked me to create a super-graphics project in his home.

Extortion!

After paying a deposit toward an agreed fixed price, half way through the project, Ray said “I think I’ve already paid enough, but what can you do about it? Your job [at Kodak] means too much to you and you’re not the kind of person to quit in the middle of a project.“

Ray was correct in that my position at Kodak meant a great deal to me. Apparently, Ray did not think it through that it would have been his job lost if I had reported the extortion to Kodak’s management. I honored my half of the agreement and completed the graphics project. Ray’s abuse of his position as my supervisor severely damaged my respect for him and undermined our relationship for my remaining time at Kodak, until I accepted a job offer from Disney.

Ray may have acted alone, or may have been set up by someone who shared his financial interest. I don’t think that Ray, a “good ole boy” from Asheville, was clever enough to have thought of this plan on his own. In October 2022, I received an email from a relative of Ray’s wife, Nancy, asking me to suppress this information, however, I stand by the facts.

Did I resent Ray using his position as my Kodak supervisor to extort money from me? Yes, very much. The dollar amount is not the issue. It was the principle!

The Kodak Research Laboratories (where Ray was my supervisor) was an environment, staffed with PhD’s and otherwise professionals, working on cutting-edge camera technology. It was an environment that I loved.

I’ve yet to receive an apology, or a “thank you” letter from Ray or Nancy for saving Ray’s job by not going to Kodak management with this information.

This is just FYI for those who would not have guessed this could happen, begging the question if Ray’s saving a few hundred dollars was worth the legacy he created.