The Persistence of History

Juelle Jackson
Activists. Interlopers, & Pranksters
November 24, 2018
The Persistence of History Assignment

             My final project is about art inside the prison. It is about the hidden art that inmates in prison possess. I wanted to show that, even though where they are seems hopeless, there is something that keeps them alive and that is their art. I also wanted to highlight the importance that they have to the world. I want people to know that just because they are prison, does not mean that they become disposable or not of value. People who are imprisoned become invisible, unheard, forgotten about, and are made to feel like they do not matter. They are associated with all the negative connotations. They are stripped of everything. They are stripped of their pride, their possessions, and everything that makes them who they are. They rarely get a chance to speak in their defense. They are just referred to as "bad" people by the world, although the world never truly knows the real story behind the person. With this project, I am hoping to change people's perspective and to give them another way to look at things. I want them to see that not all people who are in prison are bad people. Introducing the world to the talents these people possess will give them a different perspective. All people in prison are not hard, mean and scary. A lot of these people are soft, gentle and loving people who got caught up in the world, but would just like a chance to redeem themselves
           While visiting the persistence of history art gallery, I saw a number of artists whose art work really made me think of my incarceration and art project. One artist in particular was Debra Priestly.  Debra Priestly focuses her art work around themes of history, ancestry, memory, and cultural preservation. My incarceration and art project really associates itself to her piece titled, "Somewhere Listening: tongues 2,3 and 4 because the piece really made me think of the history of slavery and the enslavement of black people. This piece invokes something in me and it is something powerful. It is history that is brought to real life. It caught my attention instantly because I heard the little murmurs as I passed by, and it stopped me in my tracks. When I read about the piece, I found out that the little murmurs were voices of the enslaved black people. They were songs, prayers, and migration stories that were coming from this piece. One thing I know is that during the time of slavery, black people sang songs, told stories, and said prayers to help them to get through these rough times. They found solace and peace through their art. Their art helped them to get through the crucial times that were slavery. In my incarceration and art project, the imprisoned people find peace in their art and peace in creating. It helps them to get through the rough times that is prison. Prison today is the new slavery. It is just reconstructed in a different way, but people in prison are treated how black people were treated in slavery. In Prisons today, black people are more likely to be imprisoned than any other race. This term is mass incarceration.

Debra Priestly

Somewhere Listening: Tongues 2,3, &4 

                 The next artist who I felt related to my project is Roger Shimomura. His piece titled, "American Guardian" made me think of my project. It made me think of the inmate and guard in a prison. In this piece, it is a guard who is guarding the concentration camps. In Shimomura’s piece’s he addresses stereotypes, and sociopolitical issues of ethnicity. Shimomura spent his early life in a concentration camp that kept Japanese Americans during World War II.  The synopsis behind the piece is an American soldier training his weapon at Shimomura at five years old, and the irony is that Shimomura will grow up to be in the same position as the officer. Although, the piece does not directly relate to my project, the relation is that both deal with guards and people who are imprisoned and guarded by these officers. When I was in the gallery, this piece really stuck with me because of what I saw when I looked at the piece.

Roger Shimomura

 American Guardian

               The next artist whose work relates to my incarceration and art project is Michael Oatman’s, American Storm. When I think of this piece and what I see when I look at it is a storm that is uncontrollable. The way that I interpret is everyone just living their life in the world while their is a storm going on. The storm that is going on is in prisons. These people are going through a storm, but no one truly cares about what is going on. In the prison, people are suffering and going through real storms and bad times, but there is no one who truly cares about what is going on. In my project, I want people to be more aware and concerned about the things that matter. People should not just go to prison and have the world forget about them. There is a storm that they are going through which I believe this piece is saying. We should all be concerned about the storm that affects everyone.

Michael Oatman

American Storm