shapes distinguish what art historian Bill Holm first termed as “formline” in his 1965 book “Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analy- sis of Form.” On the reservation, formline human and animal faces constantly peered at Veregge from paintings, buildings or engraved totem poles. “I was around it so much growing up,” he says, “it was engrained in who I am.” However, as “a child of the 1970s,” Veregge was also influenced by the pop icons of his time. By the age of 4, he was drawing robots, “Star Wars” characters and his favorite comic book superheroes. “I understand the geek world better than anything,” he says. “I’ve been a geek my whole life.” As an adult, he entered the Art Institute of
Seattle with the intent of being either an action figure designer or Disney imagineer. After he graduated in 2000 with a degree in industrial design and technology, however, his first job was in marketing, creating advertising for non- profit organizations. While he was glad that his work helped others, it didn’t feed his creative soul. “When I was a kid, a blank piece of paper was magic,” he says. “I lost that when I went to art school and then started working in market- ing and painting commissions.” Just six months later, his tribe asked him to
create a logo for it. Intent on getting it right, he “looked at some books, drew what I thought looked good, but I couldn’t explain why I put some things where I put them. I didn’t want other Native artists to say I didn’t know what I was doing.” He had learned in art school, “If you are going to break the rules, explain why.” So in 2001, he asked to apprentice with Tsimshian artist and master wood carver Da- vid Boxley, who at that time lived not far from Veregge’s reservation. Boxley would later carve the totem pole that now stands in the atrium of NMAI in Washington, D.C. “His finished work was impeccable,” says Veregge. For six months, he studied Boxley’s traditional carving and drawing techniques. “You learn from the best.” During the next 15 years, Veregge contin-
ued to paint, draw and design, taking inspira- tion from North Pacific Coast artists as well as other masters such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. He spent “many sleepless nights” cre- ating commissioned pieces for galleries and other clients, but he didn’t feel like he was “do- ing any of it for me,” he says. And even though “seeds were planted in many spots,” he says, “it took a while for them to be harvested.”
TRUE NATIVE HEROES
Things changed after Veregge put his portfo- lio online. His work began to garner the atten- tion of comic book fanzines, aficionados and publishers. In 2015, he was commissioned to draw covers for “G.I. Joe,” “Transformers” and “Judge Dredd.” Then he got a Facebook message from Marvel editor Joe Quesada tell- ing Veregge to contact Marvel’s talent liaison. Soon after, he was asked to create pieces for an art show in Los Angeles to promote the “Avengers: Age of Ultron” movie. Just a few
Veregge drew the cover for first the issue of the reboot of “Red Wolf” in 2015. Marvel editor Jake Thomas says, “The job of a comic book cover is to capture a reader’s attention, to make them desper-ately curious to know what is inside. Jeffrey Veregge’s art on ‘Red Wolf ’ did that in spades.”
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 37
© 2015 MARVEL/JEFFREY VEREGGE
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