Universal Fasteners
About
Drawing inspiration from the vast button collection of his family, Beau McCall creates wearable and visual art by applying clothing buttons onto upcycled materials. McCall’s piece Button Vest: Caramel Crayons, currently on view in Art and Design from the 1900 to Now, demonstrates how this “universal fastener” connects themes of pop culture and social justice. Hear more about McCall’s artist process in this conversation with Kate Irvin, Curator of Costume and Textiles.
Free with museum admission. Registration to this in-person program is requested.
Beau McCall creates wearable and visual art by applying clothing buttons onto mostly upcycled fabrics, materials, and objects. Visit his upcoming retrospective, Beau McCall: Buttons On! on view March 30, 2024 through February 2, 2025 at Fuller Craft Museum.
McCall’s artworks, offering commentary on topics such as pop culture and social justice, have been included in exhibitions at The Museum at FIT (New York, NY), Nordstrom, the African American Museum in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA), Houston Museum of African American Culture (Houston, TX), and his work is held in the permanent collection of public institutions and by private individuals, including the Museum of Arts and Design (New York, NY), Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA), Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK), The Museum at FIT (New York, NY), among many others.