by Daphne Larkin
Basement Medicine
Bologna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, Hawaiian Punch and water
were served as prison food lunch on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the opening
reception for the “Prison Arts” installment at the Julian Scott
Memorial Gallery.
Portraits done in prison-issue flexible ballpoint pens were displayed
along with the actual pens used. Paintings of landscapes were done on
canvases made of packaging materials. One inmate submitted a drawing of
his finger, explaining in the accompanying letter that his goal is to
mail himself out of prison one digit at a time, explained Prison
Foundation Arts Director Omar Bandar.
Prison Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides resources
for prison inmates. The arts program is designed to give prisoners a
safe outlet to express their critiques of the prison system, according
to Bandar.
Some pieces depicted prison life, such as a figure behind bars or in a
garbage dump; some the circumstances that put them there, like one
painting of a street corner full of people and syringes; but many of
the pieces depicted fantasies, such as famous people, wildlife and
paradise.
There were also many crafts on display such as a chessboard made out of
wood, mother-of-pearl, gold and silver; moccasins; dream catchers and
one bikini crocheted by a prisoner named Michael Jackson.
Letters written by the artists to the art director accompanied most of
the pieces. Many inmates explained their development as artists and
said they had never had any formal training.
All of the arts and crafts on display are for sale, and the proceeds
will be divided between the Prison Foundation and the artists, which
creates a problem for some of the prisoners. Because many states do not
allow prisoners to conduct a business while incarcerated, many
prisoners are consequently prohibited from submitting their work to the
Foundation.
Bandar read an excerpt from an incarcerated artist’s letter that
expressed enthusiastic
gratitude for the opportunity to show his work.
In response to this Bandar said, “If through our effort we can make
somebody have the best news that they’ve received in five years…I think
that we’re doing very good work.”