Famed Outsider Artist, Mr. Imagination, Dies
World-renowned intuitive artist, Mr. Imagination, who left his mark while he lived in Bethlehem, dies in an Atlanta hospital. He was 64 years old.
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Famed outsider artist Gregory Warmack, better known to his friends and fans in Bethlehem and across the world as Mr. Imagination, has died in an Atlanta hospital, according to The Chicago Sun Times.
Mr. I, as he was often called, became well-known for fanciful creations made of discarded items like paint brushes, ping-pong paddles and lots and lots of bottle caps.
A Chicago native, Warmack moved to Bethlehem in 2002 “to get more peace and green in his life,” according to the Facebook page of Intuit, the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago.
Artists like Mr. Imagination are known as "outsider" or "intuitive" artists because they have had no formal arts education or training.
Mr. I became a fixture in the local arts community, working at the Banana Factory teaching children and creating art that added a distinctive character to the space around the gallery, including the “bottlecap mule” and the unique painted and bejeweled bus shelter that sits on Third Street outside of the gallery.
On its Facebook page, the Banana Factory paid tribute to Mr. Imagination:
“R.I.P. Mr. Imagination. We love you and thank you for all the blessings you have shared with us over the years at the Banana Factory. Whether it was teaching our children, working on the infamous bottle cap mule or creating a wonderland out of a bus shelter, you were and always will be in our heart. We were honored to have known you. And we will always remember you by the wonderful artworks you created here at the Factory.”
Warmack had a SouthSide home that was also his studio and personal gallery. He would often receive guests and invite them to sit on his throne – a kingly seat made in his own inimitable style, decorated with bottle caps, costume jewels and other discarded items.
But in 2008, a fire gutted the house, destroying many of his own works and the works of other artists he collected. His pets, a dog, “Pharaoh,” and three kittens he named “Peace,” “And,” and “Love” also perished in the blaze.
Distraught over the ordeal, Mr. Imagination decided to move to Atlanta in 2009. Gregory Warmack was 64 years old.
Ann Wlazelek
7:42 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012
We met Mr. Imagination at the Banana Factory years ago and liked him and his work instantly. Thanks for sharing the sad news with us.
Silagh White
8:57 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012
Mr. I had a huge impact on many Lehigh University students. Through a deep and enduring friendship with Religion Studies professor Norman Girardot and Art DGallery director Ricardo Viera, much of his work was featured at Lehigh. I have a spray painted portrait of Mr. I in my building, done by a student in 2008.
When Professor Girardot returns from a course trip to China, I'm sure we'll put something together to commemorate the artist who left his mark on so many places in South Bethlehem; Banana Factory Bus stop, the bathroom in Home & Planet and in the Millenium Archway to the Mountain Art Space - no, there is no map for this; I'll just have to show you.
Mr. I not only left his mark in objects of art - he left a mark on our hearts.
Silagh White, director of ArtsLehigh at Lehigh University
Mary Anne Looby
9:08 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012
RIP Mr. I, the world will miss you:-(
Steve Schmitt
9:46 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012
We are proud that the Banana Factory bus stop has been part of the CAT-Coalition for Appropriate Transportation adopt-a-bus stop program since Mr. Imagination built this unique, functional work of art. It is by far the coolest bus shelter in the Lehigh Valley.