Prison Art
EXPRESSING CREATIVITY BEHIND BARS
I hear the train a comin’ / It’s rollin’ ’round the bend, / And I ain’t seen the sunshine, / Since, I don’t know when, / I’m stuck in Folsom Prison, / And time keeps draggin’ on, / But that train keeps a-rollin’, / On down to San Antone.
—“Folsom Prison Blues,” Johnny Cash
Perhaps it isn’t the first place one would purposely seek creative inspiration; then again, most of those who compose this unusual group of artists have few—if any—other places to turn outside of the small concrete-and-steel prison cells they call home. The luckier ones may get to spend time in a chow hall and fenced-in prison yard, but only for a few hours a week.
Involuntary Blue by Ray Materson. Young man standing in prison cell. Red heart tattoo. Image created entirely in shades of blue. Image courtesy of Ray Materson.
Yet despite these dismal circumstances, many prison artists produce exhibition-quality artwork.
Artists in prison are often looked on as enigmas from within the prison community because their work does not conform to this population’s unwritten rules of conduct, but instead consists of genuine self-expression. In fact, many of the artists continue creating even after they are released.
Metamorphosis by Ray Materson. Depicts a Monarch butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Image courtesy of Ray Materson.
Because most penal institutions don’t allow prisoners to possess essential art supplies, some of the most creative artists in prison are also the most ingenious. While serving time for drug-related offenses, Ray Materson used disassembled socks to weave small, intricate embroideries. Released from prison in 1995, Materson is reformed and now travels the globe lecturing and promoting his art; his work continues to be exhibited in museums around the world. —GRG & RJR