William Joshua Blackmon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Joshua Blackmon
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| Born | 20 April 1921 |
| Died | 8 February 2010 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | American |
William Joshua Blackmon (born April 20, 1921 – died February 8, 2010) was an American street preacher and a well-known artist from Milwaukee. Many people, including art experts, thought he was one of the best self-taught artists from Milwaukee. He was also known as Prophet Blackmon.
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Early Life and Family
William Blackmon was born on April 20, 1921. He grew up in a town called Albion, Michigan. His mother, Gussie Blackmon, was a very religious Baptist woman from Macon, Georgia. His father, Dan Blackmon, was from Selma, Alabama. They moved north to Michigan as part of the Great Migration. This was a time when many African Americans moved from the Southern United States to the North. They hoped to find better jobs and escape unfair treatment.
William's sister, Lyla M. Washington, said their parents arrived in Albion in 1912. They were young teenagers at the time. The family grew to have twelve children, seven girls and five boys. They lived on a small farm near Albion in a house his father built. William once said that when he was eight, he predicted a neighbor's death.
Work and Military Service
In 1937, William left high school in the tenth grade to find work with his father. He helped build railroad tracks for the New York Central Railroad. He also worked for a short time at a large factory in Albion.
From 1943 to 1945, William served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was mostly in the Pacific Theater, fighting in places like New Guinea and the Philippines. He earned six bronze battle stars for his bravery. The war deeply affected his religious beliefs. He prayed a lot during battles. He said, "I learned to pray during the Second World War. When the Japanese planes came over, I'd say: 'Lord, if you get me over this hill, I'll get over the next one myself.'"
After the war, he moved to Chicago. There, he opened a shoeshine stand near a church. He later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1974. In Milwaukee, he ran his own small laundry and tailoring businesses. He also had a shoe repair and shine shop.
His Art and Message
Prophet William Blackmon believed that art was a way to share important messages. He once said:
Sometimes you can paint a picture to a person. It does not have to be with a brush, maybe just by talking. If you can tell it, so that the person can see it, they actually see it in their mind. It'll be like a little painting in their mind. That's what this art is for, getting a message to people.
Materials and Themes
Blackmon started by creating large handwritten signs. He used these signs to warn people about the dangers of sin. He used house paint to add pictures to his signs. These pictures often showed scenes from the Bible. They also included symbols of hope and justice. Over time, his signs had more pictures than words. The words were still important, but they were often placed around the edges of the artwork.
Exhibitions and Collections
In 1999, the Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University held a special art show. It was called Signs of Inspiration: The Art of Prophet William J. Blackmon. This was the first big museum show of his art. The show included many of his works from different times in his life. The exhibition also traveled to other places. These included the Diggs Gallery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Brauer Museum of Art in Valparaiso, Indiana.
In 2007, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Union Art Gallery had another exhibition. It was called Meditations & Revelations: The Work of Lauren Grossman & Prophet William Blackmon. This show featured Blackmon's art alongside works by another artist, Lauren Grossman. The show also included a film about William Blackmon called God's Spaceship: A Conversation with Prophet William Blackmon.
William Blackmon's paintings are now in several important art collections. These include the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. His artworks are also on display at the Center Street Library and the East Library in Milwaukee.
