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JOHN HITCHCOCK

The Messenger

Serigraph

12" x 12"

2016

Hitchcock grew up with his Kiowa and Comanche grandparents in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Their stories have shaped his mindset and influenced his approach to artmaking. He has recently used the owl image as a vehicle to explore personal biography. The Kiowa people believe that the screech Owl has powers to predict events in our lives. Only medicine people are allowed to handle their feathers.

When I was a young kid, my Kiowa grandfather would tell me to watch out for hooting screech owls at night. If you hear them, it means the oldest member of your family is going to die. They are going to make the transition from this life to the next. He said, "If you hear an owl outside your window at night, take your shoes and place them toe side in the northwest corner of your bedroom, and the owl will leave."