# Digital Media Concepts/Aurelio Voltaire

Aurelio Voltaire Hernández (born January 25, 1967), professionally known as Aurelio Voltaire or just Voltaire, is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and musician. Voltaire is also an author, comic book artist, stop-motion animator, and professor at the School of Visual Arts.

## Background

Voltaire was born in Cuba and moved to Newark, New Jersey at a young age. He was constantly bullied because of his ethnicity and hobbies. Growing up, Voltaire was sexually molested by a family friend. Inspired by Ray Harryhausen, Voltaire began creating stop-motion animated films at the age of ten on a Super 8 film camera in the basement of his home.
When he was sixteen, his girlfriend at the time committed suicide, which made him decide to do the same. On the day he was going to commit suicide, he decided to stand up to his bullies and his parents by doing and saying what he wanted to do and say. Later that day Voltaire thought to himself, "just one more day like today" and was able to avoid killing himself.
When he was 17, he ran away from home and moved to New York City where he currently lives today. Voltaire says that the only other place he could be happy living is Tokyo.

## Career

Voltaire started his career as a stop-motion animator and director in the eighties. His got his first job as an animator when he was seventeen working for the Parker Brothers. During this time, Voltaire animated stop-motion commercials for Budweiser, Ikea, RC cola, Hess, Parker Brothers, Kellogg's, Arm and Hammer, Marvel and many others. He made his mark as a director shortly thereafter creating award winning station IDs for MTV including the now classic "MTV Bosch".

### Music

He has released 12 full length albums:
* The Devil's Bris (1998)
* Almost Human (2000)
* Boo Hoo (2002)
* Then and Again (2004)
* Ooky Spooky (2007)
* To the Bottom of the Sea (2008)
* Hate Lives in a Small Town (2010)
* Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children (2011)
* BiTrektual (2012)
* Raised by Bats (2014)
* Heart Shaped Wound (2017)
* What Are the Oddz? (2019)
Voltaire's first five albums were released by Projekt Records. Starting with To the Bottom of the Sea, Voltaire began self-releasing his albums under Mars Needs Music.

### Books

* Voltaire (2002). Oh My Goth! Version 2.0. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-047-4
* Voltaire (2003). Oh My Goth!: Presents the Girlz of Goth!. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-061-X
* Voltaire, Chris Adams, David Fooden (2003). Chi-Chian: The Roleplaying Game. Aetherco/Dreamcatcher. ISBN 1-929312-03-2
* Voltaire (2004). Deady the Malevolent Teddy. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-083-0
* Voltaire (2004). Deady the Terrible Teddy. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-077-6
* Voltaire (2004). What Is Goth? – Music, Makeup, Attitude, Apparel, Dance, and General Skullduggery. Weiser Books. ISBN 1-57863-322-2
* Voltaire (2005). Deady the Evil Teddy. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-081-4
* Voltaire (2005). Paint It Black – A Guide to Gothic Homemaking. Weiser Books. ISBN 1-57863-361-3
* Voltaire (2007). Deady: Big in Japan. Sirius Entertainment. ISBN 1-57989-085-7
* Aurelio Voltaire (2013). Call of the Jersey Devil. Spence City. ISBN 1-93939-200-4
* Aurelio Voltaire (2013 / 2014) The Legend of Candy Claws. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1-50292-112-X
* Aurelio Voltaire (2015) Fifty Shades of Greys. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1-50887-683-5

## Awards

Voltaire has won many awards for his stop motion animated films. His Chimerascope series of stop-motion shorts have won a combined 31 awards and feature the voice talents of Deborah Harry, Richard Butler, Gerard Way, Gary Numan, and Danny Elfman.
* New York Festivals - Bronze - Best Station ID (1988)
* New York Festivals - Gold - Best Station ID (1989)
* Broadcast Design Award - Best Score (1997)
* Broadcast Design Award - Best Station ID (1997)
* Telly Award - Best Station ID (1997)
* Telly Award - Best Station ID (1997)
* Telly Award - Best Station ID (1997)
* Flash Forward Film Festival - People's Choice Award (2001)
* Telly Award - Best Station ID (2003)
* Telly Award - Best Station ID (2003)
* 25th Anniversary Classic Telly Award (2003)
* Terror Film Festival, Philadelphia - Best Fantasy Short (2007)
* Daggers Horror Short festival, NYC - Best film pound for pound (2007)
* Twin Rivers Media Festival - Honorable Mention (2007)
* Atlanta Underground Film Festival - Best Short Short (2007)
* Dragoncon Film Festival - Best Experimental Animation (2007)
* Dark Carnival - Best Score (2008)
* Terror Film Festival - Honorable Mention in Filmmaking (2008)
* Arizona Underground Film Festival - Best Animation (2008)
* Atlanta Horror Film Festival - Best Short Short (2008)
* Chicago Horror Festival - Best Experimental Film (2008)
* Famous Monsters of Filmland Film Festival - 2nd Quarter Winner (2008)
* The Indie Gathering - 1st place Experimental Animation (2008)
* Independents' Film Festival - Best Independent Animation (2008)
* Fear No Film Festival - Fear No Filmmaker Award - (2008)
* Stiff - Seattle True Independent Film Festival - Best Animated Film (2008)
* Terror Film Festival - Best Fantasy Short Film (2009)
* Terror Film Festival - Official Warm Up Film (2009)
* Atlanta Underground Film Festival Best Short-short (2009)
* Dragoncon Film Festival - First Place Animated Short-short (2009)
* South Beach International Animation Festival - After Dark Honorable Mention (2009)
* Terror Film Festival - Best Special Effects (2011)
* Dragoncon Film Festival - Best Animated Film (2011)
* Dragoncon Film Festival - Best Animated Surrealism (2011)
* Famous Monsters - Imagi-Movies Film Festival: Best Animation (2011)
* Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival - Best Short Film (2012)
* Brainwash Film Festival - 2nd Grand Prize (2012)
* Fear No Film Festival - Honorable Mention (2012)
* Macabro Film Festival - Mexico - Jury Award 2012)
* The Independents' Film Festival - Best Independent Animation (2012)
* Fright Night Film Festival - Best Practical Animation (2012)
* Coney Island Film Festival - Best Animated Film (2012)
* Designer Toy Award - Best Toy from a Comic Book (2012)
* Atlanta Horror Film Festival - Best Animated SciFi Short (2012)
* Sacramento Horror Film Festival - Best Animated Film (2012)

## Personal Life

Voltaire has a son, Mars, born in 1998. Voltaire says his son's mother left him because he was not a good provider. In October 1, 2009 Voltaire married his girlfriend, Jayme in New York City.
On September 2013, Voltaire announced that he and his wife would be divorcing.