November 7, 2003 - February 6, 2004
Herndon
Gallery, Antioch College
Curated by Julia Dzwonkoski and
Kye Potter
According to Justice Department statistics, the US prison population
has nearly doubled in the last ten years. In the last five years, Ohio
has opened eight new prisons including a $65 million supermax facility.
Interaction between incarcerated individuals and the rest of society
is limited not only by current legislation, but by fear and misunderstanding
fueled by sensational media representations of prisons, police and criminals.
These and other factors have lead to an increasingly marginalized culture
behind bars.
In an attempt to close the widening gap between
communities inside and outside of prison, Antioch College’s Herndon
Gallery presents Made in Prison an exhibition of contemporary
art by incarcerated men and women. Featuring the work of over 50 inmate
artists from across the United States, the show focuses attention upon
the voices of the growing prison population and invites audiences to
consider how prisons and the criminal justice system impact and reflect
upon our society as a whole.
Curated by Julia Dzwonkoski and Kye Potter, Made in Prison is the result of a year spent visiting prisons and corresponding with
inmates, researching the history of the visual arts in prison, and working
with prison arts and advocacy groups to identify artists and locate
work. The show is significant both in providing access to work that
rarely circulates in traditional exhibition channels and as a survey
of artworks that are compelling both inside and outside of the prison
context in which they were produced.
Made in Prison surveys a range of
artistic practices – realist depictions of daily life; labor intensive
studies that mark the passage of time; inventive uses of available materials;
appropriations of pop culture, works that reflect idiosyncratic or visionary
perspectives, works that meet erotic and self-therapeutic needs, as
well as art commissioned by guards and fellow inmates.
The artists in this exhibition come from communities that are politically
and culturally underrepresented. Their backgrounds, training, access
to materials and reasons for making art vary considerably. To provide
a context for this work, artists’ statements and curatorial notes
accompany each piece in the show. An exhibition
catalog featuring an essay by cultural studies scholar Jean Gregorek
is available. The exhibition is part of Antioch College’s 150-year
anniversary celebration and reflects the College’s commitment
to understanding and promoting diverse forms of cultural expression.
Opening Reception
Phillis Kornfeld, educator, curator and author of Cellblock Visions (Princeton, 1997), will discuss her 20 years’ experience teaching
art classes in prisons throughout the country. She will present slides
and discuss the work of individual artists, their processes and the
contexts in which they are working. She will also share strategies she
has developed as an educator and advocate. Students of criminal justice,
sociology, popular culture, law, education, art and social work are
encouraged to attend.
The Books 4 Prisoners Crew is an Ohio-based all volunteer group dedicated
to providing prisoners in Ohio, Indiana and Texas with the education,
empowerment, entertainment and escape that come from free reading materials.
The Crew is made up of prison abolitionists, former prisoners, friends
and family of the incarcerated, and social justice activists. Members
of the Crew will discuss and screen a video about their work.
In conjunction with this presentation, the Herndon Gallery is organizing
a book drive. Please help by donating your new or gently used paper
back books.
Chris Hill, Associate Professor of Film and Video at Antioch College
and co-organizer of the 2001 Documentary Institute Inside and Out: Witnessing
Prison in America, will discuss media representations of crime, prisons
and police. She will screen excerpts from award-winning documentaries
and activist media projects that explore a range of prison and criminal
justice issues, including the death penalty, racial profiling and inmate
access to education and health care.
Funding for this exhibition has been provided by the Ohio Arts Council,
The Antioch Company and Dick Blick Art Materials.
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