Mr. Imagination, 1948-2012

By Aliya Trovoada

Bottlecap Figure with Mirror, 1991, bottlecaps and mirror on wood

Gregory Warmack, known in the creative world as Mr. Imagination, was born on March 30th, 1948, in Illinois and passed on May 30th, 2012. His artworks aren’t spoken about nearly enough despite being so impactful in transcending boundaries in folk art, as well as inspiring many Black artists in America. Growing up in impoverished areas of Chicago, his upbringing was marked by many challenges, but the adversities he lived through allowed for his artistic spirit to flourish. He would use this ethos of making opportunity out of what he had in his found objects used to create sculptures. He saw them as materials with potential, as opposed to discarded remnants.

Warmack was shot twice whilst selling handmade jewellery on the street, and as the doctors attempted to save his life, Warmack said he had an “out of body” experience. This caused his life to completely change as he saw visions of ancient civilizations—ranging from West African to Egyptian ones— which, when he was back in health, inspired him to dedicate his art practice to arts with spiritual powers and utilising found objects. After this experience, he began to use different types of recycled materials in his art, especially bottle caps, which he is best known for.

Folk artists had used bottle caps to evoke a variety of textures and colours in their works, but Warmack took this to another level. As seen in Bottlecap Figure with Mirror (1991), he utilised every area of his object and covered them in bottle caps. This transforms ordinary objects into extraordinary pieces of ark. He paid attention to details and colours are thought of extensively in a way which somehow doesn’t overwhelm the eye. What further sets Warmack apart are the messages that he included in all his works. He invited viewers to see the beauty in mundane and often overlooked aspects of life, each of his pieces demonstrating how much potential we have, as humans, in terms of our creativity.

Mr. Imagination in the Midst of His Creations, photograph courtesy of Material Culture

Beyond his artistic impact, Warmack was also incredibly impactful to local and national communities and to cultural preservation overall. He mentored many artists from diverse backgrounds and led workshops in communities across the US. Through this, he cultivated a sense of empowerment within marginalized communities, where art was used as a tool for healing and social change.

Mr. Imagination left behind a profound legacy in numerous communities worldwide. His art is an example of the transformative power of creativity and allowing oneself to continuously view the world through a different lens. He invited viewers to truly embrace the beauty in all that surrounds us, even if we don’t see it as first. Warmack’s innovative use of materials, in combination with his continuous moral duties to his communities, fully demonstrate his inspirational role in the world of contemporary art.

Bibliography

Cahill, Holger. “Folk Art and Its Place in the American Tradition.” Parnassus 4: 3 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1080/15436314.1932.11467259.

“Folk Art Legend Mr. Imagination Dies at 64.” Material Culture. Published 2013. https://materialculture.com/folk-art-legend-mr-imagination-dies-at-64/.

Metcalf, Eugene W. “Black Art, Folk Art, and Social Control.” In Winterhur Portfolio, 271–89 (2013).

“Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack).” Smithsonian American Art Museum (blog). Accessed 29 February 2024. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/mr-imagination-gregory-warmack-5849.