Hunter M. Yoder
The most prolific and outspoken artist of a modern school of "hexologists" is Hunter Yoder, owner and operator of the Hex Factory in Philadelphia. Born and raised in Berks County, Hunter was inspired by local artistic traditions, and even painted a barn on his father's property near Virginville. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hunter embraces the title of "Hexologist," and has sought to reinvent the mythology of the modern hex sign by incorporating aspects of his interest in ancient pre-Christian ritual culture. Hunter's work combines plant geometry, runic inscriptions, and several designs which are an homage to the work of Lee Gandee. Like Gandee, Hunter experiments with the use of art for shamanic and magical purposes, believing that his work is an extension of his spiritual path. Identifying himself religiously as a Heathen, Hunter blends traditional motifs with arcane occult emblems in the interest of reviving ancient Germanic religion. While for many people in Pennsylvania, this particular approach remains highly controversial, especially because of the historical abuse of such interest in Germanic culture during the second World War, Hunter aims to break down such taboos in an effort to take his art in an entirely different direction, blending old and new mythology. Despite these obstacles in belief, tradition, and culture, it is undeniable that Hunter's work is visually stunning, and part of the spectrum of modern applications of continued interest in Pennsylvania Dutch culture in the United States.
page 119, "Hex Signs, Myth and Meaning in Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Stars," by Patrick Donmoyer, a publication of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University, 2013
Menschen beim Folk Fest - Nr. 8: Hunter Yoder. Hunter ist pennsylvanisch-deutscher Volkskünstler und als solcher immer mit einem Stand beim Folk Festival dabei - üblicherweise direkt neben dem seiner Ehefrau Rachel Yoder Art. Seine Kunst unterscheidet sich jedoch deutlich von ihrer. Ihn interessiert besonders das indoeuropäische Erbe der grafischen Muster - wo kommen sie her, was bedeuten sie, und welcher Zweck wurde mit ihrer Nutzung verfolgt. Weiße und schwarze Magie spielen hier eine Rolle. Eigen macht seine Kunst die Kombination der typischen pennsylvaniadeutschen Scheunensternsymbole mit germanischen Runen - mit Ergebnissen, die uns Deutsche manchmal eigentümlich berühren, weil es uns mit unserer Vergangenheit konfrontiert. In Pennsylvania jedoch ist der Begriff "Heiden Hexology", den er bisweilen verwendet, neutral und frei von jeder politischen Konnotation. (Sprache: englisch) #hiwwewiedriwwe
People at the Folk Fest - No. 8: Hunter Yoder. Hunter is a Pennsylvanian-German folk artist and as such always has a stand at the Folk Festival - usually right next to that of his wife Rachel Yoder Art. His art, however, differs significantly from hers. He is particularly interested in the Indo-European heritage of symbolic patterns - where do they come from, what do they mean, and what purpose was pursued with their use. White and black magic play a role here. His art makes the combination of the typical Pennsylvania German barn star symbols with Germanic runes - with results that sometimes affect us Germans in a peculiar way, because it confronts us with our past. In Pennsylvania, however, the term “Heiden Hexology" he sometimes uses is neutral and devoid of any political connotation. (Language: English) Dr Michael Werner, #hiwwewiedriwwe 2021
Hunter Yoder's ineffable Big Sandwich! Shamanic/Odhinnic inspiration?surging instinctual emotions?and Ursprung physicality = Art, sex magick, & git?r done. Amber Faith
"The father of New Wave Hex! He synthesized the Hex art with the Runic. With that, the boundaries of possibility greatly widen." Robert Taylor of the Neofolk duo, "Changes"
"Hunter, many thanks for THE BOOK... it helps expand our notion of what "fits" in spiritual imagery. A nice contribution to the field!" Dennis Boyer, author of "Once Upon a Hex"
"Yoder is perhaps the strongest young artist, though also the most naive. Glasses and matted blond hair, he lives in a tipi he built on the edge of Kutztown. Floor-bound, hex-sign derived wood sculptures redolent of local sources."
September 19, 1976
Robert Pincus-Witten, art critic
Hunter M. Yoder
917 375 4982
RESUME
Birth Date, 1954, Reading Pennsylvania
Education, Kutztown University, BFA, Painting, graduated Cum Laude, 1977
EARLIER SHOWS:
June, July, 2014, 2015 "The Kutztown Folk Festival," Kutztown, PA, demonstrator and exhibitor.
September, 2013, 2014, 2015 "Heemet Fescht, " The Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, demonstrator and exhibitor
August, 2013,2014, 2015 "Philadelphia Pagan Pride Day" Clark Park, Philadelphia, demonstrator and exhibitor
April, May, 2013, "Das Sonnenrad Show," The Hex Factory, East Kensington, Philadelphia, PA, one man show.
May, June, 2012, "Fruchtbarkeit Hexerei" The Hex Factory, East Kensington, Philadelphia, with O. Henrietta Fisher.
March,April, 2012, "Heiden Hexology/ Sex Magic" Jed Williams Gallery, 615 Bainbridge Street, Philadelphia, with O. Henrietta Fisher.
January, February, 2012, "Between The Sheets," The Hex Factory, East Kensington, Philadelphia, with O. Henrietta Fisher.
November, December, 2011, "Gottinen und Heiden Hexology," one man show, The Hex Factory, East Kensington, Philadelphia, PA
September, October, 2011, "Heiden Hexology in Oley, PA" Clay on Main, Oley, PA
August 2011, 2013," Folkish Summer Hallowing," sponsored by the Irminfolk, Milford, PA Workshop and presenter.
May, 2010,"Group Show to Benefit The Nikola Tesla Inventor's Club," Germ Bookstore and gallery, Fishtown, Philadelphia.
October 2-4, 2009, "A Folkish Winters Night," A Confederation of Folkish Heathens, Northern Virginia, Workshop and presentation.
May 9, 2009, "Valhallapalooza," Newport, Rhode Island, Presentation and Workshop of Pennsylvania German Hexology.
February, March, 2009, "Deitsch Heathen Hexology," Curated by Yoder, four Heiden Hexologists at Germ Bookstore/ Gallery, Fishtown, Philadelphia
Earlier Film Work
December 1984, "Cineprobe," Museum of Modern Art, New York City, one man presentation of his experimental films
February 1981, "Personal Cinema Program," Millennium, New York City, one man presentation of his experimental films
June 1980, "Cinema Different Programme," Festival International Du Jeune Cinema, Hyeres, France. screening of "Diet of Worms"
May 1977, 112 Workshop, 112 Greene Street, New York City, screening of Yoder's, 16mm experimental film shot in Berks County, "Diet of Worms"
PUBLICATIONS
"112 Workshop/ 112 Greene Street," Savitt and Brentano, NYU Press, 1981, pages 109, 362, 363.
"In and Out of Kutztown, A Documentation of the Art Series Program. 1974-1981" Segment on Yoder by Robert Pincus-Witten. Page 120, Art Series Press, 1981
"Hollebier Haven" Summer 2007, Journal of Three Sisters Center for the Healing Arts
"Hex Magazine, Issue 4" Fall/Winter 2008, 'Runic Symbology in Contemporary Deitsch Hexology'
"The Backdoor Hexologist," 2009, 355 pages,Hunter M. Yoder, The Hex Factory Press, ISBN 978-1461028789
"Hex Magazine, Issue 6" Spring/Summer, 2010, Cover art.
"The Journal of Contemporary Heathen Thought, Volume One," 2010, 'Magic Plants Used Symbolically in Germanic Heathen Hexology'
"Hex Magazine, Issue 9," Fall/Winter 2011, 'Six Questions to Six Hexologists on Their Six Hexes'
"The Philadelphia Inquirer," April 15, 2012 Review of "Heiden Hexology/Sex Magic," show at Jed Williams Gallery by Edith Newhall
"SideArts," Cassandra Hoo, Review of "Heiden Hexology/Sex Magic" show
"Heiden Hexology, Essays and Interviews," Hunter M. Yoder, 2012, 332 pages, The Hex Factory Press, ISBN 978-1-300-04863-3
"Hex Signs, Myth and Meaning in Pennsylvania Dutch Barnstars," Patrick Donmoyer, Kutztown University Press, 2013
"9 Worlds of Hex Magic," Hunter M. Yoder, 2013, 292 pages, The Hex Factory Press, ISBN 978-1-304-62490-1
"Tyr: Myth-Culture-Tradition, Volume 4," Ultra Press, 2014, page 368
"Hex Highway," Hunter M. Yoder, 2016, 270 pages, The Hex Factory Press, ISBN 978-1-365-36021-3