A college class consisting of prisoners going on a field trip inside the prison is almost impossible to imagine, but Patten University at San Quentin’s Art History class did just that.
Thanks to the generosity of the artists housed inside San Quentin, students were able to view artwork first hand in the prison’s art studio.
Kara Urion, Program Director for the Prison University Program, arranged for the class to take the field trip. “I think to be able to utilize the visual analysis skills they learned in class on their peers’ artwork is important,” said Urion.
The Art History class, led by instructors Mathew Culler, Elizabeth Eager and Grace Harpster, hopes to teach students to “gain a familiarity with the major movements, artists and events in the history of western art since the Renaissance,” according to their syllabus.
The art studio in San Quentin used to be named “Arts-in-Corrections,” but the program was shelved by the state in 2010 after budget cuts. The art studio was kept open after losing state funding due to work of the nonprofit William James Association.
Recently, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has once again started to fund art programs within prisons by distributing funds to nonprofits such as the William James Association.
Inside the art studio at San Quentin prisoners paint, draw, block print, build dioramas and make music.
“The art was pretty amazing. There was one block print that jumped out at me. I was blown away,” said prisoner Eddie Herena after viewing the artwork in the art studio.
One of the art projects that students analyzed in the art studio is a mural that is being constructed and will eventually be mounted on one of the walls in a dining hall at San Quentin.
“We looked at the mural and discussed perspective while comparing different styles that the artists used to create it,” said Herena, adding, “We also talked about what the artists were trying to say with their work.”
“I was happy to see that our instructor was able to view some of the high-quality art being produced at San Quentin,” said student Carlos Flores.
“All of my teachers know what they’re talking about. I enjoy listening to them teach because they bring their passion into the conversation,” said Herena.
“Arts-in-Corrections was the perfect place for our art history class to discuss how being in the presence of an artwork alters our perception of its meaning,” Harpster said. “Material, scale, display context, technique — this all matters in a work of art, whether produced in the 19th century or present-day San Quentin.”
www.prisonuniversityproject.org
