Gallery on Lockdown
August 20, 2007 12:11 PM Subscribe
You’d need years to really study these murals of Califonia’s history - the artist certainly had a lot a free time to create them. You'd probably also need a special invitation to engage in a multi-year study in the gallery - and you probably don't want one.
Seeing these was definitely one of the highlights of my tour of San Quentin (of the several-hour variety, not the 5-10 year kind). People there are very proud of them, and enjoy showing them off, even if they pass on a fair amount of misinformation about them (what they were painted with being the big one). If you ever get a chance to see them in person, do so.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:52 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by gingerbeer at 12:52 PM on August 20, 2007
You can see orange jumpsuits on the googlemaps image of the prison.
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:51 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:51 PM on August 20, 2007
agreed: way cool. thanks.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:53 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:53 PM on August 20, 2007
Wow. The murals are wonderful, and Santos' story is a very interesting one. This is a fine post, thanks for bringing it here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:39 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:39 PM on August 20, 2007
One of the most impressive pieces of art I've ever seen originated in a California penetentiary, either Q or Folsom.
I was in Amsterdam in the early 1990's, wandering around the city. I found a tattoo museum and stepped inside. The ceiling was very low. Of all the exhibits, only one was remarkable to me; the product of an obvious white supremacist, a tattoo montage of swastikas and death skulls.
But what made this tattoo so mind-blowingly remarkable was that it was emblazoned on a white polyethylene drinking cup. How the hell did he manage to get all those little pin-pricks into something so hard? I'd seen tattoos on leather before, but this plastic was much harder.
And yes, this is a very good post.
posted by Tube at 6:50 PM on August 20, 2007
I was in Amsterdam in the early 1990's, wandering around the city. I found a tattoo museum and stepped inside. The ceiling was very low. Of all the exhibits, only one was remarkable to me; the product of an obvious white supremacist, a tattoo montage of swastikas and death skulls.
But what made this tattoo so mind-blowingly remarkable was that it was emblazoned on a white polyethylene drinking cup. How the hell did he manage to get all those little pin-pricks into something so hard? I'd seen tattoos on leather before, but this plastic was much harder.
And yes, this is a very good post.
posted by Tube at 6:50 PM on August 20, 2007
There are still a lot of artists in San Quentin - death row inmates' web pages show that a lot of them make art. I found these particularly scary.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:37 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by gingerbeer at 7:37 PM on August 20, 2007
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posted by philcliff at 12:43 PM on August 20, 2007