Inmate Art Display Draws Mixed Reviews

CHICAGO -- Art work from, perhaps some unlikely artists, will go on display Monday at the Chicago Cultural Center.
   The paintings and drawings are the creation of prison inmates.
   "Light From Inside: Art From Illinois Prisons" is an exhibit that will run through Sept. 28 in the Cultural Center, 78 East Washington Street.
   The exhibit is presented by the John Howard Association, the only state-wide organization dedicated to providing public oversight of correctional facilities in Illinois.
   Works include paintings collected by the Long Term Prisoner Policy Project, which focuses on the approximately 5,000 prisoners in Illinois who have virtual life terms (i.e., the length of their terms precludes their getting out of prison alive).
It features approximately 100 works by prisoners in Illinois' most restrictive prisons, such as Pontiac, Dwight, Menard, Stateville, Lawrence, Pinkneyville, Western, Hill and the Tamms supermax facilities.
Prison art exhibits are not new. Works by serial killer John Wayne Gacy, mass murderer Richard Speck and mob hit man Harry Aleman have all gone on display.
The John Howard Association stresses they are not trying to glorify the prisoners in their showing.
"We're not trying to make heroes out of these guys," says Aviva Futorian, an exhibit organizer. "We're trying to rehabilitate them. That's good for society and good for the victims."

Janie Edwards has her own view of Charles McLaurin’s art.
"He should draw a rope and hang himself in that cell," she says.
McLaurin is a lifer at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.
Edwards is the south suburban Richton Park woman whose 17-year-old son, Jarrell Edwards, was killed by McLaurin in 1992.
A relative of the boy McLaurin killed says he believes art can be therapeutic for some criminals -- but not for McLaurin.
"I don't think a murderer can be reformed," says Gussa Harris, Jarrell's aunt. "He cannot be helped. He should be in a dark room every day of his life."
Another aunt, Ira Foster, hopes to attend the exhibit.
"I hope the whole Chicago Police force will be there," she says. "I will tear every last piece of art off that wall."

The artworks also are available for viewing online: http://lightsfrominside.blogspot.com

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