HERO’S JOURNEY 60×70″ acrylic on canvas 1997-8
The painting presents two places at once; a street scene and a daytime sky as seen from a jet airplane. The hero, influenced by Joseph Campbell’s writings on mythology is present in a medicine bundle, adorned with a sword, tied to a travois of sticks that also represent a shamanic” Man” form. The white “Clooties” tied to the travois are prayer rags as those seen at holy wells in Celtic Britain. The manhole represents the double image of the underworld and the Sun surrounded by three “Planets” and three pots of flowers. Earth is the third planet from the Sun seen in the diagram at bottom left.
James H. Vredevoogd holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MFA in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art. His paintings are in the permanent collections of two museums, two universities, and various private collections. An Emeritus professor of Art at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, he taught painting, drawing, and performance Art for thirty-two years.