In 2009, Gregory "Mr. Imagination" Warmack left Pennsylvania and moved to Atlanta.
Grieving for all he'd lost – decades of art he'd made or collected; books, photos and historical documents; his beloved dog Pharoah and a family of cats – sapped the energy he'd once used to bring new life to old things.
In his hands, spent paintbrushes and mops had become shaggy-haired kings or creatures; mountains of bottlecaps found new life in giant thrones, sculptures – even clothes. Wire screen turned into dresses, faces rose up from cement and putty.
What was real didn't die, it just came back in different forms.
Turns out, living in Atlanta has been good medicine. Mr. I's friends rallied, he found a new home, time passed. Once he got his hands moving again, the work flowed. Some bubbled up from new places, like birds carved from salvaged wood. Some stayed rooted in the old, like scorched pieces he's reconfigured, repaired or left as they were.
This time, the life he's reclaimed is his own.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/visual-arts-preview-mr-826795.html
http://www.barbaraarcher.com/
"highly prolific" is a fact. Thanks for saying hello tonight.
ReplyDeleteLoving all the phoenix/rebirth in this. And how great is it that his dog was named Pharoah? You caught it all.
ReplyDeletehey thanks for your awesome blog, terry!
ReplyDeleteand gina: tx ; )