CityLine: Exhibit in Brockton museum features bounty of buttons

TUCKED AWAY IN THE WOODS OF BROCKTON IS THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM. THE SPACE OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE PERCEPTIONS OF THE MATERIAL WORLD AND BRINGS THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO DISCOVER AND ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT IN A MUSEUM DEDICATED TO THE INTERSECTION OF FORM, FUNCTION AND HANDMADE, WE FIND AN ARTIST WHO HAS FLOWN UNDER THE RADAR FOR DECADES. HIS EXTRAORDINARY WORK FROM AN ORDINARY ITEM, THE BUTTON, THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM IS HOSTING BO MCCALL BUTTONS ON THE ARTISTS FIRST RETROSPECTIVE OF 40 YEARS OF CRAFT AND DESIGN, CURATED BY HIS LONGTIME PARTNER, THE HARLEM ICON OF ARTS AND CULTURE, SOLIO BUTTONS. I THINK LIKE SO MUCH OF CRAFT, THEY’RE UNIVERSAL. IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY IN OUR CULTURE JUST TOUCHES EVERY DAY. AND I THINK THAT REALLY IS THE ROOT OF CRAFT. THESE ITEMS AND THESE MATERIALS THAT SURROUND US THAT ARE FAMILIAR AND AS A CRAFT MUSEUM, WE REALLY STRIVE TO SPOTLIGHT ARTISTS THAT ARE TAKING THESE VERY HUMBLE MATERIALS AND BRINGING THEM TO NEW HEIGHTS AND ARTISTIC FORMS. BETH MCLAUGHLIN, THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR OF FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM, MET MCCALL DURING A VIRTUAL STUDIO VISIT DURING THE PANDEMIC AND KNEW IMMEDIATELY THAT SHE WANTED TO BRING HIS WORKS TO BROCKTON. I WAS SO BLOWN AWAY BY BO’S CAREER AND HOW HE’D BEEN WORKING FOR FOR DECADES, USING THE BUTTON AND THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT HE HAD TAKEN IN MAKING HIS ART FORMS AND WAS SO SHOCKED THAT HE HAD NEVER HAD A PROPER RETROSPECTIVE. AFTER 40 YEARS OF MAKING, FROM WEARABLE GARMENTS TO SCULPTURAL PIECES, MCCALL BRINGS HIS PERSONAL HISTORY AND SOCIAL ISSUES OF BLACK AND LGBTQ VISIBILITY TO LIFE THROUGH MULTI-LAYERED AND MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CREATIONS. THIS PIECE HERE IS CELEBRATING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY. WE SEE THE PINK TRIANGLE. WE SEE THE RAINBOW STITCHING. IT’S ALSO A REALLY WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF BO’S WEBBING TECHNIQUE, IN WHICH HE’S SEWING THE THREAD ON TOP OF THE BUTTON, AND THEN NEXT TO THAT, WE HAVE HIS TARGET APRON, WHICH IS DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE MARGINALIZATION OF BLACK AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY. WE WE SEE THE COLORS OF THE PAN-AFRICAN FLAG AS WELL AS BUTTONS OF MARTY LUTHER KING AND MALCOLM X. BUTTON WORK IS MORE THAN NEEDLES AND THREAD. MCCALL USES A WEALTH OF TECHNIQUES TO BUILD HIS ART. WHAT HE’S DONE IS HE’S USED A MACRAMÉ TECHNIQUE THAT HE LEARNED AT SUMMER CAMP AND IN CHILDHOOD, AND CHICKEN WIRE AND BUTTONS. SO EVERYTHING ON THIS PIECE IS EITHER CHICKEN WIRE OR BUTTONS, EVEN THESE LITTLE GOLD BALLS ON THE END. AND IT REALLY SPEAKS TO BO’S DEDICATION TO WORKING IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY. THE BUTTON ITSELF HAS A VERY RICH HISTORY. UM STARTED OFF OBVIOUSLY AS A VERY FUNCTIONAL ITEM, BUT VERY SOON TRANSITIONED INTO ORNAMENT. SO I THINK EARLY ON THE BUTTONS STILL HAD THESE ROOTS OF BEING DECORATIVE AND A WAY OF ALMOST LIKE JEWELRY. SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY OF THE BUTTON IS AS RICH AS AS BO’S CAREER ITSELF. AND JOINING US NOW IS HARLEM ARTIST BO MCCALL, AND PETER SOLO RIGHT. CURATOR OF BUTTONS ON OH MY GOODNESS. THE WORK IS SO BEAUTIFUL, SO INTRICATE. BO, HOW DID YOU GET INTO BUTTONS? WELL, IT STARTED BACK HOME IN PHILADELPHIA. UM, IN MY MOM’S BASEMENT. THERE WAS A JAR BUTTONS THAT I WAS ATTRACTED TO, AND OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, I STARTED TO USE THE BUTTONS AND MY FIRST PIECE, WHICH IS IN IN THE EXHIBITION, WAS A SWEATER THAT I EMBELLISHED, AND I WORE IT OUT TO A CLUB AND I GOT RAVE REVIEWS AND, UM, A COUPLE MONTHS LATER I MADE ANOTHER ONE. AND THEN I MOVED TO NEW YORK. UM, LOOKING FOR MY, UM, CREATIVE VENTURE. SO A LOT OF A LOT OF FAMILIES HAD THAT BUTTON JAR IN THE HOUSE. TELL US MORE, IF YOU WOULD, ABOUT HOW YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR UPBRINGING INFLUENCED YOUR CREATIVITY WITH THE BUTTONS. WELL, MY MOM WAS VERY CREATIVE. UM, SHE LOVED TO DECORATE. SHE LOVED COLORS. SHE WAS THRIFT SHOPPING AND UPCYCLING BEFORE THAT WAS A THING BACK WAY BACK WHEN. AND I CAN REMEMBER AS A KID, UH, SHE WOULD TAKE ME AND MY BROTHER SHOPPING WITH, WITH HER, AND WE WERE EMBARRASSED AT THAT TIME BECAUSE WE FIRST OF ALL, WE DIDN’T KNOW WE WERE POOR AND WE WOULD GO TO ALL THESE JUNK STORES AND STUFF WITH MY MOM AND AT THE TIME, I REALLY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS DOING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I WAS A CHILD. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I SAW THAT SHE WAS CURATING CERTAIN ITEMS TO BRING HOME TO DECORATE THE HOME WITH AND ALSO CLOTHE US. SO I GOT THE BUG. WELL, I’M SURE YOUR MOM CREATED A VERY ELEGANT HOME FOR YOUR FAMILY. SO, LEO, YOU AND BO ARE CREATIVE PARTNERS AS WELL AS LIFE PARTNERS. HAD YOU GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO BUTTONS BEFORE YOU MET? ABSOLUTELY NOT. LIKE MOST PEOPLE, I GAVE IT NO MORE THAN A SECOND. I DIDN’T EVEN GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT. AND SO WHEN WE MET, UM, BO HAD HIS WAY ABOUT ART IN A CLOSET AND IT WAS JUST SITTING THERE AND I SAID, OKAY, THIS IS AMAZING. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT? WHY DOESN’T THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT THIS AMAZING WORK? AND THAT WAS ABOUT, UM, 14 YEARS AGO. AND IT TOOK US THAT LONG TO GET TO THIS POINT. AND WE’RE REALLY GRATEFUL THAT NOW THE WORLD IS LEARNING ABOUT BO AND ABOUT THE BUTTON. NOW, BO, THIS IS YOUR FIRST RETROSPECTIVE AFTER A VERY LONG CAREER. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE GETTING THE RECOGNITION FOR YOUR WORK NOW? UM, I’M VERY, VERY EXCITED THAT PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO TAKE NOTICE. AND, UM, I’M JUST IN A SPACE THAT I HAVEN’T BEEN IN BEFORE PUBLICLY. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I GOT PEOPLE CALLING MY NAME OUT DOWN THE STREET AND PEOPLE CALLED ME MR. BUTTONS. SIR. BUTTONS, LORD. BUTTONS, COUNT BUTTONS. SO? SO I’M ENJOYING MYSELF. SO, LEO, WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE IN GETTING BO BACK TO SHOWCASING HIS WORK? UM, SO WE INSPIRED EACH OTHER AND SO I HELPED INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE HIM TO GET BACK OUT INTO PURSUING A PROFESSIONAL CAREER. AND SO, UM, I. AND HE INSPIRED ME TO WANT TO BE A CURATOR, UM, ALONG WITH MY DECEASED BROTHER. SO IT WAS REALLY WANTING TO GIVE THEM AND OTHER EMERGING ARTISTS A PLATFORM. AND SO THAT WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO. WE DID OUR FIRST EXHIBITION THAT HE WAS IN. IT WAS A GROUP EXHIBITION, AND SINCE THEN WE’VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY TOGETHER ON JUST KNOCKING DOWN DOORS. YOU KNOW, BANGING ON DOORS, KNOCKING ON WINDOWS, SAYING, HEY, THERE’S THIS AMAZING ARTIST, CHECK THEM OUT. AND, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC, UM, IS WHEN, UH, WE STARTED TO GET SEE A LOT OF TRACTION AND A LOT OF RESPONSES. UM, AND SO SINCE THEN, IT’S JUST BEEN AN UPHILL, UH, JOURNEY. NOW. SHIRLEY, I’M LOOKING AT WHAT YOU HAVE ON NOW. HAS BO MADE ANY PIECES SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU? YOU. YES, HE HAS. UM, IT’S IN THE EXHIBITION. HE DID, UH, THE FIRST, UH, BUTTON DURAG THAT HE CREATED. UH, UH, HE DID FOR ME, I COMMISSIONED IT, I SAID I WANTED SOMETHING, UH, TO WEAR TO AN EVENT, AND I SAID, I WANT IT TO BE LIKE A BUTTON DURAG. AND THEN HE JUST WENT OFF AND MADE THIS AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL PIECE THAT REALLY NOT ONLY IS BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT, BUT ALSO CELEBRATES BLACK NATURAL HAIR, BLACK BEAUTY. AND SO THERE’S ALWAYS A DEEPER MESSAGE WITHIN HIS WORKS. ASIDE FROM JUST THE VISUALLY APPEALING NATURE OF IT. WE’RE LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW. IT’S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. IT LOOKS LIKE A JUST A VERY REGAL, UH, HEADPIECE, UH, REMINISCENT OF SOME AFRICAN STYLE. SO JUST GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE THEMES OF THE RETROSPECTIVE. SO THE EXHIBITION IS BROKEN INTO FOUR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. THERE’S THOSE BUTTONS ON THE BODY WHICH, UH, EXPLORES, UH, 40 YEARS OF BOWS, A BUTTON EMBELLISHED WEARABLE ART. SO FROM DURAG TO SHORTS TO JACKETS TO, UM, THIS AMAZING, UH, COUTURE, UM, BUTTON ARMOR ENSEMBLE. UH, SO JUST A RANGE OF THINGS AND WHY THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM? OH, OKAY. WHY THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM? BECAUSE ONE, IT APPRECIATES CRAFT. IT APPRECIATES THE BUTTON. IT UNDERSTANDS THE VALUE OF THE MEDIUM BO WORKS IN. AND THEY HAVE BEEN SUCH A JOY TO WORK WITH. THEY’VE BEEN EQUITABLE. THEY’VE BEEN FAIR, THEY’VE BEEN SUPPORTIVE. AND SO WE’RE JUST GRATEFUL AND HONORED TO BE THERE. ALL RIGHT. SO EVERYBODY’S GOT TO GO TO BROCKTON TO SEE THIS FABULOUS EXHIBIT. BO AND SOLIO, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. BUTTONS ON WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM THROUGH NEXT FEBRUARY MARY. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT. AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR WATCHING EVERYONE. BE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND CITYLINE FIVE AND YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON