Inmates Draw Income From Inside Prison

Prison art continually adds to the curiosity of society and is gradually being sought after for many different reasons an individual may have. It does not matter if one is a first timer or a lifer, a correctional officer, the warden or a member of society, the visual language of art in prison cannot be escaped and is everywhere. "Prisons are full of people with great potential. It's sad that so many are not allowed to cultivate it, but are just discarded like toxic waste." Tommy Silverstein, Leavenworth Prison, quoted in North Coast Xpress Newspaper (April-May 1996). As a former inmate my intention is to educate, enlighten and encourage the importance and significance of sales of prison art to the public through my own personal experiences. I was incarcerated from 1986 to 1990, when there were not any opportunities to sell the art to the public known to me, whereas now there been a few organizations that have been created successfully.

For an inmate to be able to draw and submit their work for sale to the public builds responsibility and a sense of worthiness because they are able to acquired necessities from the commissary. They can send money home lessening the burden their incarceration has placed on those tending to the needs of the inmate's family; therefore directly assisting financially. More importantly, creating and selling art instills a sense of self-esteem which is a very important element in reentering society. The sales would serve the dual purpose of helping the rehabilitative process and providing an avenue for offenders to show remorse for their crimes by supporting crime victims programs with a percentage of the sale being donated.

Art is one of the engines that drive prison culture, its economy, level of respect and the relationship between cellmates and of being in custody. Like the surrounding coils of razor wire, the place of art in prison is constant, silent and never sleeps. Throughout prison, the air is thick with a kind of creativity that cleverly gets a person through the day. Here a good memory is essential, an important survival and art making tool. Images are remembered, for what they store in the memory is the only thing that belongs to them that cannot be stolen. Artwork seems to be a great way for an inmate to spend his-her time because in order to produce such artwork one must think and contemplate about his-her past which is exactly what prison is for. In fact, the very product of prison labor can even "moralize" convicts, turning them into "real" people with real ambitions and work schedules, real income, and real motivation.

I was incarcerated for four years and drew many cards for myself as well as for fellow inmates made from what was considered contraband. According to the prison's policy because the materials used were not included on my personal item list. The materials were considered illegal and many times were confiscated. I "employed" a group of women for a various "jobs", including acquiring needed materials such as manila folders and coloring pens and pencils, even extracting the color from jelly beans and kool-aid. Some colored, some took orders, while some delivered and collected payments in form of commissary items or from favors such as using someone else's telephone time. (Patrysha Freniere, personal communication, October 17, 2007)

Art supplies can be tiresome and time-consuming for inmates who more frequently turn to scavenging the trash and even stealing from offices where they were assigned. The arts served as one of the strongest economic exchanges in prison. Respect in the general prison population is equated with what a person is capable of doing. Small frail body types who can produce lifelike, hand drawn portraits on envelope sized cards or even on typing paper can attract as much respect and power as a body builder covered with tattoos. In a way considered almost magic, the artist can unlock the mysteries of reason, escape the confines of the cell and bring loved ones into focus. To copy something with photographic fidelity is highly respected and considered an exceptional talent. An inmate talented in photorealism has a skill compared to that of a magician.

Ed Mead, founder of the Prison Art Project (2001), wrote "I'm a former political prisoner who was sending money in to those left behind when I came up with the idea of lessening my burden by providing progressive prisoners with the means to sell their crafts and artwork on the Internet." The Prison Art website, www.prisonart.org was created to provide an online outlet for the sale of crafts and artwork created by prisoners.

Currently, the largest employer of convicts in the United States is Federal Prison Industries (Unicor), with 18,000 prisoners making some 150 products, including safety goggles, air force jet wiring, and body armor and road signs. Combined with the nation's entire fleet of private prison industries, the number of convict laborers across the country reaches 72,000. Unicor's products are considered poor quality, and consistently inferior to the private sector's products. They cost more to make, have higher defaults, and take longer to procure (Parenti 1999), even in Texas, where prisoners do not even get paid to work.

Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT and T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom's, Revlon, Macy's, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours