William Van Hettinga Tribute


I met William when I was a student at the Atlanta College of Art. He taught a class in art history and literature. One day as I was leaving my apartment on Lafayette Drive, quite near the College, I noticed him emerging from the building next door, discovering we were neighbors. We became friends and he took me under his wing and shared his world view and much of his enormous bank of knowledge on a variety of subjects, opening up new doors of interest to me. He was a true Renaissance Man and a talented artist, film maker, poet and teacher. One of his greatest gifts was his sense of humor which I also believe saved him in some of his later more darker hours. That gift, sadly, was to crumble in the last year of life when he died in Charleston, South Carolina in 1989.
He took me on a journey to Amsterdam once and it was through him I met artist, Nan Hoover.
She became another mentor and also a person of lasting influence in my life.

My only regret concerning this man is that in my youthful self absorption  I failed to ask more questions. Perhaps I was too busy being awed by his intelligence and a little overwhelmed by his persona.

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