“With a teeny tiny button you can create, you can have a voice, and you can inspire.”
–Beau McCall

Proclaimed by American Craft magazine as the “Button Man,” Beau McCall creates wearable and visual art by applying clothing buttons onto mostly upcycled fabrics, materials, and objects. As a pioneering artist, McCall challenges objective hierarchies between fashion, wearable art, visual art, craft, and folk art while celebrating the global and historical use of found objects in art. His artworks, offering commentary on topics such as pop culture and social justice are held in the permanent collection of numerous public institutions and by private individuals, including the Museum of Arts and Design (New York, NY); Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK); Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York, NY); Debbie Harry of Blondie; Jeffrey Gibson; and more. 

Abundantly illustrated with nearly 100 images of works from McCall’s almost forty-year career, this book is the first-ever tribute to McCall’s cultural contributions and mastery of the button in art. More than 80 of his most impactful works are displayed alongside a foreword, introduction, and essays by esteemed experts who unbutton the many layers of Beau's work. Contributors explore the historical context of his practice and how it is situated within the evolution of the button and the innovations of the contemporary craft field; the quest for Black queer liberation; and an analysis of the joyous, universal, and pop culture references throughout his work. Plus, acclaimed scholars reflect on their favorite pieces with brief commentaries. Finally, in an intimate and candid interview the “Button Man” tells his story in his own words.