Taking the inside artist outside

12 September 2008
A dollar spent on an art class is an investment that returns dividends throughout society, says Nora West, who spoke about her experiences as a prison art tutor at the Uxbridge Gallery, a creative space in the Auckland suburb of Howick.

The floor talk accompanied an exhibition showcasing the work of 12 prisoners studying towards a diploma in art and creativity through the Learning Connexion. On at the Uxbridge Gallery until 16 September, the exhibition is called See what I Mean.

“The classes don’t cost much in terms of taxpayers' money,” Nora says. “In fact, these students all take out loans to join the programme, which helps motivate them to take it seriously and to complete the course.”

Nora West’s floor talk

The work on these walls provides the best arguments for the value of art-making – to the prisoners, for their families, and for all who do custodial and rehabilitation work. Everyone who comes into this gallery to view See what I Mean is moved by the care and love taken in painting these portals. The shape suggests windows through which to look at the wider world.

Art and prison are such opposite concepts – the one liberationalist, all about freedom and creativity, and the other custodial, about control and authority – that I often wonder, as I stand waiting for clearance through the various systems, why I do it. There will always be difficulties in negotiating a path through such clashing cultures. Is it all worth it?

Art in prison is still seen by some sectors of society as a privilege that prisoners don't deserve; a hobby, a play activity that will not assist re-integration into the workforce on leaving prison; and generally a waste of taxpayers' money.

It is certainly a privilege to come to art classes but is also hard work – much harder than watching TV, which is freely available in prison. Watching TV is  passive, while choosing  images and techniques to use to illustrate a theme is actively constructing something.

A new mindset

It is really hard work to develop a whole new mindset, one of exercising choice. Art is not a thing you can learn by rote and there is never only one right answer. Art is a kinesthetic activity, a thing that you learn as you do – like writing these notes, in fact. The act of writing concentrates the mind and I think of more ideas by focusing on the topic, until they come streaming, as if from nowhere. We all know lots of stuff, but it’s only when we shape it into a form to communicate it that we give birth to an independent entity, a thing with a life of its own.

Teaching art is partly a matter of showing and practising the techniques, materials and tools of painting – the grammar of art-making. Pencil, oil pastel, collage and assemblage; printmaking; the elements of colour mixing and blending, of composition and balance, positive and negative space …

The Learning Connection provides clear lesson plans on all these topics, well-laced with examples by other students and by famous artists ranging from the Italian Renaissance to contemporary New Zealanders developing their Māori, Pacific and other cultural identities. There is a high proportion of Māori and Pacific Island peoples in New Zealand prisons, and they  gain much from discovering paintings that explore their own culture – and also from finding out how highly some of them are priced.

The other part of art teaching involves making a safe space for students to dare to put down their own ideas and images, without fear of criticism and rebuke. Coming to art as an adult, especially but not only, in the prison environment, involves overcoming a lifetime of negative input. In our modern society, with photo-perfect unattainable images on every billboard and TV screen, it is easy to overlook the beauty of children's art, of the homemade, of traditional patterns in tattoo and carving; and yet it is often from these sources that our cultural identity is forged. 

Remarkable diversity

The work on these gallery walls is remarkable for its diversity. There are photo-realist portraits and abstract patterns, imaginative compositions in every style and technique. This foundation course provides access to many tools to create with, without narrowing the range of styles and topics the students select from their own experience.

By drawing on this, the students have discovered their sense of taste and judgment. Because they have taken such care to make work that feels aesthetically right, shifting a line or a tone several times till it works, they have produced compositions that are intensely distilled; compositions that emanate powerful signals like open bottles of perfume.

As to the question of the worth of art classes towards re-integration into the outside workforce … It is true that art is not a trade and it is hard to make a living as an artist in New Zealand. Many  fine arts graduates are working in hospitality and unrelated jobs, making art in their spare time. But they do tend to live creatively, with more dash than cash, and bring a sense of joy to what they do.

For prisoners, whose lack of education has often contributed to their arrival into the prison system, their time inside can be the first occasion they have had the leisure to spend time on themselves, and the first space where they can feel safe from harm. This is especially true for women and it is often their best chance ever to spend a while on self-discovery, and on acquiring the tools to express themselves.

The classes do not cost much in terms of taxpayers' money: in fact, these students all take out loans to join the programme, which helps motivate them to take it seriously and to complete the course.

Environmentalists tell us that every dollar spent saves ten dollars down the line in terms of saving the planet. I believe the same applies in terms of preventing crime escalation in society. A dollar spent on an art class is an investment that returns dividends throughout society.

Learning as healing

People who have been through the tough times are often the most passionate promoters of learning as healing when they have turned their lives around: they have strong stories to tell, and the art they make from them heals rifts in themselves and their families.

The value of hosting a professional exhibition of these works is huge. The Uxbridge Centre is to be praised for its vision in including this show in its calendar. It has meant that a piece of each artist is outside for a few weeks, there for their families and friends to visit.

Many of the custodial staff have taken a warm interest in the works too and were glad to receive invitations. A number of pieces  have sold, which reinforces the sense of self-worth among the artists.   

Art-making is a spiritual keep-fit course, requiring honesty, courage, spirit and love. The more we practise the better we get. When we learn to make a small area like these ovals as good as we can make them, we are taking control of a bit of our lives. We can then apply that improved fitness level to taking control of larger areas of our experience. The sort of grounding provided by this foundation course in art and creativity qualifies its graduates to re-enter society with confidence and to make a fresh start.

Thanks to Nora West for permission to post this floor talk.