Button Cane with Self-Portrait

Copied Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Button Cane with Self-Portrait, mid 1990s, enamel paint on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.20

Artwork Details

Title
Button Cane with Self-Portrait
Artist
Date
mid 1990s
Location
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.
Mediums Description
enamel paint on board
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Imagination, Mr. — head
  • Portrait male — Imagination, Mr. — self-portrait
Object Number
1998.84.20
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.84.20

Artwork Description

Mr. Imagination applied bottle caps and buttons to his sculptures to give them color and texture. In this piece, he surrounded a self-portrait with wire protrusions, then threaded different colored buttons onto the wire. The twisting shapes evoke colorful snakes or dreadlocks, reflecting Mr. Imagination’s lively personality.