Prison Art
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Dedication Ceremony For Imprisoned Teens
Posted by isis on 04 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Prison Art |
“When asked what symbolized freedom, a couple of youth said, “home…just being in our own house, and being able to do what you want.” Joe Saxe commenting on the above public art piece “The House That Joe Built”.
The Ceremony
On Tuesday February 27th, 2pm, I waited in a long line of cars to park at the new Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro, California. It was the dedication ceremony for the facility where Alameda county board of supervisors, judges,probation officers, kids from the hall, bishops from churches, and artists gathered for the reception and ribbon cutting.
The weather was crappy, drizzly rain on and off and I was running late. By the time I found parking and got to the reception, county administrator Susan S. Muranishi was in the middle of her welcome speech which took place in the lobby in front of Joe Saxe’s public art “The House That Jose Built”. There was a crowd of people, reflecting the diversity of cultures, age, and occupations. After her speech, the Boy Scouts of
Remembering the Making of a Mural Named “Kenya”
Posted by isis on 22 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Anti Pop Art, Prison Art |
Up on 15′ scaffolds at San Leandro Ca New Juvenile Justice Center August 2006
On Being a Finalist
There’s something about being in a juvenile hall that makes me feel guilty even though I haven’t done anything wrong. Maybe it’s the unlocking of doors, being lead down corridors and hearing the doors shut and locked behind me. Or maybe it’s sitting in front of a row of teen girls under the supervision of juvenile hall staff and arts commission staff. Either way, it’s an uncomfortable place to be and this is where I began my journey as a cartoon muralist for the new Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro.
The new facility is designed to function as a maximum and medium security housing for troubled teens. It will accommodate 360 youth, ages 12-17y.o. with a separate facility for girls. The housing is divided into 6 units called “pods”. Each pod has a half of a basketball court with a mural to be painted above the hoop. The murals will be visible from the teen’s individual rooms, which are similar to prison rooms, except there’s a metal desk with a lamp. 44 artists had applied for the mural commission that was weeded down to 22 finalists. In the end, only 6 would be chosen.
As with any public art it’s important to meet with the community who will be directly affected by the art. And there I was, one of 22 mural finalists sitting in front of a dozen girls of juvenile hall. One by one, we introduced ourselves to the teens. Afterwards we finalists started asking questions of what kinds of imagery they would like to see. The girls responded quietly and I listened intently, pencil in my hand pointed at my notebook, ready to write their ideas. Although some of their answers seemed a little programmed, by the looks on their faces, a whole lot of other stuff was going on. But a couple good questions got the teens really talking:
“If we could open you up and look inside, what would we see”?
Many of them answered, “pain”, “anger”, “loss”, and expressed the desire to be with family and their kids.
Another question was asked, “If you could be a spirit animal, what would it be?”
Overwhelmingly the girls identified with being predatory cats like tigers and panthers.
Just as the conversation was becoming more interesting, our time was up! As we were lead out of the conference room in single file, some one from juvenile hall told us that if we wanted additional information about the teens, to go to their website called thebeatwithini.org. Thebeatwithin is a website of writing, thoughts, poetry by the teens of juvenile hall.
When I got home, I looked at my notes. They were meaningless scribbles. I decided to check out thebeatwithin.org. to see if there was something that inspired ideas. I spent the rest of the night reading their experiences being teens. Their writings sent me into my own tearful adolescence past and the difficulties I had being a young woman. Flashbacks of getting into fights with other teens over what most adults consider petty, like name-calling, cheating, bad rumors flowed thru my mind. But it was the girl’s stories of partying and ending up in the back seat of cars with strangers that reminded me of the dangers I put myself in all in the name of being an adult.