James Hampton: Visionary, Prophet, Saint and Bimwah
Sunday, May 13th, 2007
I first discovered James Hampton on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. We were winding down our visit and decided to check out the Folk Art Museum, before we left.
The Folk Art contained at the Museum was extraordinary. The pieces were all top notch and very unusual. We came upon a room that contained the most indescribable exhibit I had ever seen. There in all of it’s glory was the “The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation’s Millennium General Assembly” created by James Hapmton. As we gazed upon the Throne our jaws dropped. There is a Spritual Rush of graceful energy as you stand before the Throne. Read more about the exhibit here.
As you get into the story of James Hampton and his monument to God, you become even more incredulous. First of all it was created of discarded items including gold foil wrappers, bits of aluminum foil, burnt out light bulbs, jelly glasses, cardboard and wood. Everything contained in the Throne is made of recycled material.
Hampton’s philosophy is explained in the phrases: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” and “Fear Not”, which are posted on the Throne.
Hampton’s work is inspired, precise and intricate. James Hampton was a meticulous craftsman and artist. He worked entirely alone and it is not known if he ever showed his masterpiece to anyone, although there is a picture of him standing in front of the Throne. He also created his own private language and there were volumes of this writing in his own secert code.
I must say witnessing the Throne first hand was one of the my most Spiritual encounters I have ever experienced.
Lynn Marmitt of The Folks of Folk Art Paper for the Yale, New Haven Teachers Institiute said the following:
“James Hampton was born in 1909 in Elloree, South Carolina and never married. Known to be a very quiet and reclusive man he moved to Washington D.C. where he began to work for the Federal Government at the age of nineteen. In the early 1950’s Hampton rented an old garage from a man named Meyer Wertlieb and paid fifty dollars a month rent which Wertlieb considered strange because Hampton did not own a car. Each month he paid his rent promptly and told his landlord that he was storing things in the garage.
In late 1964 Wertlieb grew concerned because Hampton was behind in his rent and someone was sent over to the garage to check out the situation. When the garage door was opened, an unbelievable masterpiece was seen for the first time and it was then learned that James Hampton had died. Inside the garage was a wall of an elaborate construction of wood and cardboard and pieces of old furniture completely covered with silver and gold foil. This was a homemade rendition of the interior appointments of a church or cathedral. There were thrones, altars, pulpits, standards, offertory tables, icons and crowns.
Attached to a bulletin board on the wall was a paper containing the message, Where there is no vision, the people perish.” For fourteen years Hampton worked privately in his garage collecting junk, scraps of gold wrapping paper, used kitchen aluminum wrap and tinfoil from cigarette and gum wrappers. Through the writings found in the garage it was indicated that GOD came to him through a vision and directed him to build the throne. Thus after his death from cancer in 1964, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly was discovered. Hampton’s landlord, Wertlieb, sold it to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.”
Since my first encounter with The Throne, I have thought about it many times. I am very interested in tracking it down, and seeing The Throne is person, again. I want to feel the positive energy generated by The Throne. The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly is more than a work of art. Much more. James Hampton’s vision is a spirtual event to be cherished and experienced.
James Hampton was a visionary, spritualist, prophet and saint. He created beauty from nothing. He was truly a Bimwah, a Creature of Dreams, who turned his own dreams into reality.
You can get up close and personal with the The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly . The Smithsonian has created an interactive tool which will let you zoom into any portion of The Throne. Here is the Inter-active Link. You will be able to discover the intricate detail used by James Hampton to create his masterpeice.
James Hampton in front of the Throne.
Little is known about the history of this photograph.
Submitted by Albert Grande
Bimwah-in-Training
http://bimwah.net
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