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| Prison Art on Display at Vassar |
| By The Poughkeepsie Journal |
| Published: 04/03/2006 |
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The faces were old and young, smiling or pensive but the dark eyes were always the same. As painted by New York inmate Brian K. Jones, the men, children and women stared out from the walls of Vassar College's Aula Room with an intensity that seemed to give them life. Jones, an inmate at Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County, was one of two artists with work on display in an exhibition arranged by students from Vassar's Green Haven Prison Program. Former inmate Melvin Isaac also provided art for the show. Since 1979, the program has brought Vassar students together with inmates from Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville. In the last few years, the program has grown to include Otisville. "I didn't want what was on the walls to be a reflection of what I liked," said Vassar senior Anine Booth, who organized the weeklong exhibition. "We're trying to present to Vassar a piece of these two men and I didn't want to be a filter in that." So Booth told Isaac, now a New York City resident and a friend of Jones', to send her what artwork they had. A Southern California resident, Booth became involved with the prison program in her freshman year. "It has really changed the way I see the world," she said. "For a lot of these guys in there, it means so much to have these Vassar students coming in not only for the visitors but because prison is so dehumanizing." Giving Vassar students, and the public, an insight into a prisoner's humanity through their art is part of the motivation for the exhibition, Professor Larry Mamiya said. "It allows the public to see there's real talent in the prisons," he said. "They're not all the dregs of the society." Letting the inmates' artwork speak for them appealed to Vassar senior Morgan Monaco of New York City. "Art is a great way to express oneself," said Monaco, who participated in the prison program last year. "I'm happy to support that for individuals who don't have a lot of opportunity to express themselves." |
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