Talent Thursday: , Beau McCall, the "Button Man"

Talent Thursday

June 29, 2023

Beau McCall

SUFFOLK COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

LGBTQ+ LAW COMMITTEE

The Button Man

Beau McCall

Din, Une Tres Belle Negress, 2

Michalene Thomas

In our first TALENT THURSDAY, we featured

Mickalene Thomas

a Black artist creating pieces like Din, Une Tres Belle Negress, 2 shown above. Michalene Thomas' work strikes at the intersectionality of visual art and the beauty and struggles of the disenfranchised in our society.

Now, the STONEWALL NATIONAL MUSEUM & ARCHIVES in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida exhibits REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT through September 8, 2023, a retrospective collection of

Beau McCall

who memorializes the lives of 10 late friends as the artist and each friend experienced the 1980's and 1990's together. Today, we proudly celebrate this visionary artist whose multimedia creations feature fasteners and buttons.

Click on images to learn more

Click on the image for an outstanding article about this incredible piece's origins in the 1976 choreopoem when colored girls consider suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange

darkmuskoilegyptiancrystals&floridawater/redpotionno.1

Beau McCall

Claw-footed cast iron bathtub covered in fabric and buttons

From Beau McCall's website:

I depict the climax of the poem when lady in red, after giving herself to a lover, prepares a bath to wash away his scent. Thereby, the bathtub becomes a spiritual and ritualistic sanctuary and site of one’s search for inner peace and self-love.

Sole Power

Beau McCall

Museum of Arts and Design

This 2018 creation of upcycled Adidas size 11 mens sneakers recalls Run DMC's hit My Adidas. The button and raffia covered footwear presents an African theme. From the artist's website, describing the title SOLE POWER:

The title is a play on popular slogans in Black culture such as “soul power” and “Black power.” Here, “power” is preceded by the word “sole” referencing how style--footwear, in particular--can be a source of empowerment through its activation of self-expression.

EBONY: What was your motivation for Rewind: History on Repeat?

Beau McCall: I wanted to highlight some of my closest friends who left a lasting impression on me in the early part of my gay life. It was a time for all of us when we didn’t have much representation of Black LGBTQ+ people in mainstream media. So the bond we forged with one another was very important. It allowed us to create our own safe space where we could journey into adulthood and explore our sexual and gender identities with the support of one another.

--Ebony, June 2, 2023

ARTIST BEAU MCCALL—'THE BUTTON MAN'—CELEBRATES PRIDE MONTH WITH NOSTALGIC COLLAGE

Beau McCall

Strange Bedfellows XIII

REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT

Beau McCall

World Spinning on a 45

Beau McCall

BIANCA III

REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT

Beau McCall

Mol Renee V

REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT

Beau McCall

Revolution

Beau McCall

Strange Beauties

The Suffolk County Bar Association condemns violence against all individuals and acknowledges that members of marginalized groups, which include the LGBTQ+, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, Native American, and Muslin communities are disproportionately targets of violence.

As lawyers, we support the rule of law and honor our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all.

NEXT MEETING

Our next regular meeting is THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. by Zoom. We open the doors at 12:45 p.m. and will begin our committee business at 1:00 p.m.

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF OUR COMMITTEE, READING, AND PARTICIPATING.

Hon. Chris Ann Kelley and Harry Tilis

BE ACTIVE ~ BE HEARD ~ BE INFLUENTIAL