"Jesus in Central America - The First Station of the Cross" was the outgrowth of three to five years of work Mr. DePice did concerning the struggle for human rights and social justice. His focus embraced the struggles in South Africa, Central America and the civil rights movement in this country. Mr. DePice was strongly inspired by the story of Jesus Christ from a very early age. This influence has continued throughout his life, and has formed in him a strong sensitivity to the plight of the poor. As a mature artist, he feels a responsibility to use his God-given talent to bear creative, non-violent witness to social injustice. Another person he credits as an artistic role model was Paul Robeson, Sr., who said, "An artist must elect to fight either for freedom or slavery."

Mr. DePice believes the passion of Christ is revealed in everyday injustices. In this particular art work, he chose the peasant to represent Jesus and the National Guardsman to be the modern-day counterpart of Roman soldiers. Instead of a sword, the Guradsman carries a gun. The two plainclothes men represent society's role as witness to Christ's passion in the new millennium.

Jesus in Central America
Oil pastel on paper
6'8" x 4'4"
Price: $1,000.00

In 1995, Mr. DePice received a $7,000.00 grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. It was awarded for his personal work as an artist and fro his ideas as an art educator. In addition, an essay he wrote was recently published in a book titled, A Passion for Teaching. His submission is one in a collection of essays by forty-two teachers from throughout the country. In his entry, Mr. DePice explains the teaching methods he employs to unify the disciplines of art, math, English and science and to develop his students' visionary thinking skills. He cites the following quote from the Book of Proverbs as an inspiration for his teaching, "Where there is no vision, the people will perish."