Recollection Tableaux
Reception Fri., May 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., on view through Nov. 30, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Ave., 215-236-5111.
visual art
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Walk down Cellblock Seven at Eastern State Penitentiary and you'll see not only the real remnants of a life lived inside the prison — mattress frames, discolored cushions — but miniature re-creations of it. Out of carved, bleached linden wood, fabric, metal and other materials, artist and CP contributor Susan Hagen has resurrected vignettes that humanize the population of the historic prison. Working from photographs in ESP's archives, historic documents and oral histories, Hagen says she pulled out scenes "based on the power of the individual images and the range of experiences they covered." The bright-white figures, just shy of a foot high, are featured in works currently on view inside the cells, including "Hooded Man," "Quilting Party," "Shoemakers," "Construction Workers" and "The Hole," a reference to the prison's dank, miserable solitary confinement area. Later this summer, she'll add "The Prison Band," "Prison Disturbance" and "The TV Watchers," which she's currently finishing. The last shows a group of prisoners in the '60s watching a TV perched on a high shelf in the corridor. Hagen found portraying some of these scenes, which she imbues with expressive facial features and body language, emotionally trying. "There are so many sad stories, and even a festive scene like the one in 'Holiday Decorating' has a sense of regret or loss," she says. "'Hooded Man' is a disturbing image because of the use of the hood, and solitary confinement, in the early years of the penitentiary's history, appears clearly misguided at this point in history. Yet the image resonates in a troubling way with contemporary images."
"Recollection Tableaux," reception Fri., May 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., on view through Nov. 30, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Ave., 215-236-5111.
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