Revisiting Pelican Bay Art

This post was originally from 2007 when I first started the blog. However, I decided to re-vamp and revisit the old post . The majority of the art work was from inmates who were serving S.H.U time up at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City California.

"This is where the inmate eats, sleeps and exists for 22 1/2 hours a day. He spends the other 1 1/2 hours alone in a small concrete yard." NPR.org

In recent news:
 July of this year Pelican Bay S.H.U and other supporting prisons in California went on a hunger strike in demand of proper living conditions and human rights.  The following photographs consist of three different art shows from 2006-2007. One of the shows was curated by our very own Slanguage Studio Chinatown Gallery in 2006. The artwork was a collection of pieces and items gathered in correspondence by artist Dixi Swift . The other two shows where curated by small galleries in Long Beach and San Pedro by other organizations.  As conditions and regulations have gotten harsher artwork like this has been hard to send home. For a minute Pelican Bay authorities started stamping mail with a big red stamp ruining some of the work. Other times the artwork never reached its destination and was destroyed. I am not sure the status of artwork today; nonetheless, this might be a last of its kind in this condition without authority alterations.


Insider Art Presents "Ballpoint Creations"

Controversial but thought provoking
Artists: Robert Tamayo, Jesus Gonzalez, Raymond Casares and Steve Carotan
Artist connect to their family and friends through Pelican Bay walls 
Long Beach, California 2007

Check out the rest after the jump!