San Quentin State Prison : Part 1

Part # 1 Mapping

Part # 1 started as an assignment given to the men in the history of photograph class I taught with Doug Dertinger at the Prison University Project. The men are not allowed to use cameras but we wanted them to get a sense of creating and interacting with images. Each student was given a 17×11” image by a different artist. The image was printed on both sides of the paper with enough of a margin around the image for handwriting. The men were asked to physically interact with the image on the page. They used one side to map the photograph/image through words and drawings, dissecting what they saw in order to assemble meaning and construct a possible narrative. Once that was done they used what they discovered to write a response to the image on the second side. Their response could be a formal reaction to the image or verge into creative writing: using the subject and setting of the image to produce fiction or facilitate personal memoir. The men live with the image for almost a month so the paper itself took on shape and character. By the end of the assignment they had produced an object that was the evidence of their interaction with the image, a piece that was not only a conversation with the original image but in some ways a new and unique image itself.

The examples of the image mapping exemplify the distinctive way each man interacted with the photographs. Through their markings and use of language and drawing, a singular voice emerges that not only connects with the style of the image but also divulges something about how the individual sees the greater world through the photograph.

Two sided 11″ x 17″ inkjet prints with handwritten text, 2011-2012