Prison Art

 

Creating art while imprisoned has been found to be good for the mental health of the prisoner. It has been learned that the act of creating reduces stress, allows for an emotional outlet, improves self worth, encourages creative thinking, and provides a sense of self worth and accomplishment. Art helps the prisoner become more humane and authentic by allowing them to open up and express feelings that they can't vocalize.

Charles Manson was a prolific artist working in various mediums during his 50+ plus years in prison this time around.

Art is very subjective to both the artist and the viewer. What one person thinks is absolutely fabulous another will think it is garbage. There are artists who never saw fame in their lifetime, only to be revered after death.

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century for his paintings of precise blocks of color on canvas back in the 20s, 30s and 40s and it wasn't until the 60s that his work was celebrated. I totally do not understand Mondrian's popularity. It's just not for me.

Andy Warhol, who was very popular during his lifetime, made a name for himself by taking everyday objects and making them larger than life. Today one can go to a good photo editing site and replicate what Warhol did with his 1967 Marilyn Monroe screen prints, for instance, in just a few minutes with their own photos.

Abstract art is even more subjective.

I am not going to say that one day Manson will be celebrated as one of this century's great artists but his art does have an appeal.

I suppose that if one were to look at Charles Manson's art chronologically that they might see a progression of self-awareness and growth. Chaotic periods of angst and frustration might be identified as well as good times and satisfaction. Manson's art might be the only measure of his true self.

This past summer George Stimson created a one-day pop-up exhibit of Charles Manson's artwork. Pieces by Sandy and Lynette were also featured. George decided to film the exhibit and present it as a 3D offering. The video is like one of those 3D house tours that you see on real estate websites. It takes a moment to get the hang of it. I found the best way to view each piece was to follow the circles on the floor and then use your cursor to make your way up to the art piece. You can get pretty close to each piece.

The show is comprised of artworks from three different collections.

The string art was made in the 70s, 80's and 90s. The paintings were done in 1994 and 1995.

George told me a little bit about obtaining materials and what materials were used in his pieces. " The string art was made with anything he could use. That would include underwear, socks, and other clothing threads but also anything else he could work with. Blue remembers sending him socks that were specifically for making dolls. Some of the scorpions and parts of A Mac Eggus were made with toilet paper."

George heard that Charlie learned how to make the dolls from a woman he knew while he was in Mexico.

When Charlie was not in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) he could receive art supplies from an approved vendor. "The mediums he used were acrylic, pen and ink, colored pencils, clay, papier mâché, fabric, food coloring, and little scraps of this and that that he worked into his pieces."

Manson did not participate in any prison art classes, he generally worked on his art in the common areas or outside.

I asked George what the inspiration was for his art work. This is what he replied.

He said that he was trying to do art that was different. And he certainly did!

Here’s how he described the thoughts behind the large hanging doll, A. Mac Eggus :

“It’s a blamer. You know what a blamer is? When everything goes wrong, the doll’s name is “Egg Us.” Eggus. And when things go wrong, you blame Eggus. If anything happens that’s wrong, if it’s an earthquake, it’s Eggus’ fault. Anything that happens that you don’t like, you blame Eggus. Don’t ever blame yourself. Don’t blame me.... We blame Eggus. And then, after a while, we look at Eggus and we go hang it somewhere where our enemy is. Someone you don’t like? Go hang it in [name deleted]’s yard. You know what I’m saying? In other words, after you’ve blamed it and you got all that negative bad on it, then you can take it over to your friend’s, or someone’s house that’s done you wrong, and give it to them. I put a button on his knee, and I put a rock in his head. You got a rock for a head. It glows in the dark. So if I ever see the rock out behind my window, I know you’re out there.”

And below he talks about the painting The Purple Turkey, which is based on an experience he had in school when a teacher derided him for doing a drawing of a purple turkey. As Lyn Fromme recalled in Reflexion:

We were talking about artwork when Charlie said that his first grade teacher had criticized his painting. He looked dejected. Mary and I laughed.

“No, really,” he said, half-really. “She put her nose in the air and said in front of the class, ‘Now, Charlie, everyone knows that TURKEYS are NOT PURPLE.’”

He said that was the last time he tried to draw or paint.

Manson on The Purple Turkey:

“When you see this next picture you’re really gonna like it, I think. Everybody else likes it. That’s what I call it, The Purple Turkey. It’s really, it should go down in history. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. And I’ve looked at a lot of art. It’s close to a Braque. But Braque would probably laugh at this one. I don’t have any talent. This is pure, pure doodle.... It’s a lot of time, and a lot of little delicate things in it, just for something to do. I don’t have any talent, man. Did you ever see some of the stuff that Beausoleil does? That’s talent. Beausoleil has talent.

“What I do is, I paint the background in the glow-in-the-dark stuff. And then I come in with the lithographic pens, and I paint over that. Then when I put it in like a shadowy light? It jumps out at you. It don’t look cheap, like a lot of that glow-in-the-dark stuff looks kind of cheap, you know. I’m trying to look into something like a different kind of perspective.... What I’m trying to do there, I’m trying to make things that are not identifiable with anything else. I don’t want to make it look like something. I’m trying to make it look like nothing.”

Here's the link to George’s website and the 3D art tour.