1,000 forgotten buttons = MLK masterpiece: Portrait donated to Canton's McKinley High

CANTON − A unique portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. has found a home at McKinley High School.

Propped against a wall outside Umstattd Hall on Thursday, the art piece was on display as adults and children entered the auditorium. Many stopped to admire the 4-by-6 portrait made from 1,000 buttons. Eyes of children grew wide, the mouth agape of one young girl as she urged her mother to come see the artwork for herself. Both kids and grown-ups moved their fingers over the buttons, expressing amazement at the distinctive artwork.

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Canton artist Tim Carmany was recognized at the beginning of a Black History Month celebration for creating the MLK mosaic, which was purchased by ArtsinStark and donated to McKinley High, where it will be fitted in a custom frame and displayed in the school's new cafe space, said Lisa Reicosky, coordinator of communications and media relations for Canton City Schools.

King gave a speech on March 20, 1964 at the Canton Memorial Field House at McKinley High School. The site is designated with an Ohio Historical Marker.

"One of the values of creating, sharing and experiencing art is that it can bring people together despite their differences," said David Whitehill, president and CEO of ArtsinStark. "I'm hopeful that Tim Carmany’s portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fosters dialogue around equity, human rights, democracy and social activism while providing an opportunity to reflect on his many contributions."

Whitehill said the portrait was donated to McKinley High "because the school’s core values of inspiring confident, creative and open-minded learners align with the movement that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired."

Here are five things you need to know about the MLK portrait:

1. How many buttons are in the portrait?

Artist Tim Carmany was surprised by the question. "I never counted them," he said with a laugh.

Following mathematical calculations, he said "probably 1,000 buttons."

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2. Where did the buttons come from?

Somebody dropped off the box of buttons at The Hub Art Factory, 336 Sixth St. NW. Carmany owns and operates The Hub, which is a studio for Carmany and resident artists. Exhibitions are given and artwork is also sold there.

Because the buttons were identical in style and size, only differing in hue, Carmany speculated they were left over from a clothing manufacturing facility.

"People think, 'Oh, an artist can do something with it,'" Carmany said of discarded and misfit items that wind up at The Hub. "A lot of times it doesn't happen, but it just so happened that day ... someone dropped (the buttons) off and it was January. There was snow on the ground, and it happened to be MLK Day, and I happened to have a box full of buttons as an inspiration."

3. How did Tim Carmany make the unique portrait?

Working from a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr., "I actually plotted out where each one of (the buttons) would go before I plopped them on there. Fortunately, I had enough buttons to finish the portrait, and that was it − it worked out perfectly that I had enough to finish.

"It was one of those spontaneous things where I had as an artist those three things that rarely coincide − the inspiration, the materials and the know-how − so it was great."

"I do a lot of odd-colored portraits, and I just so happened to have the right tones there (among the buttons) − the creams and the blues and greens and dark browns to really make the whole thing to come to life − and I didn't choose any of them."

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4. How long did it take to make the portrait?

Buttons were attached with white glue to a donated piece of fiberglass and foam insulation board cut to size. Then the piece dried and cured. A protective coating of resin also was applied to the finished piece. That all was done within 24 hours.

"I did the whole thing in one day," Carmany said. "I started around noon and finished sometime in the night."

5. How unique is the art piece?

"It was really a spontaneous piece, a one of a kind of an outlier," Carmany said. "I've never made something with buttons in the past, and I have no plan to be a button mosaic artist, but it just happened, and it's one of those things that I'm glad that I did, and I'm really happy that it found a permanent home here in Canton.

And "it would be great if it inspires more civic leaders to stand up and fight and have the courage to do what they know is right. I hope it inspires people."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tim Carmany turns old buttons into MLK masterpiece for McKinley High