Georgia state prison makes no mistake that art is an extremely dangerous weapon with the potential to wreak havoc on the strict authoritarian environment of a maximum security lockup. Evidence of this came in their decision this past year to send Bernard to "the hole," a sensory deprivation isolation unit which violates the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, for the "crime" of violating a prison regulation banning art supplies. The dangerous contraband included a few broken colored pencils, a small tube of paint and a brush. Bernard was "sentenced" by prison officials at the same time as a fellow prisoner from another cell, who was caught with drugs and several items of drug paraphernalia. They chose to give this prisoner 12 days in isolation and Bernard 45 days. Not that anyone should be put in isolation, but this move made clear what prison officials in GA see as a threat to security.
Bernard's current efforts include organizing to bring real alternatives to pornography to the prison, in the form of art workshops, lectures and speakers. In response to these efforts, prison officials have stepped up their wide distribution of free porn to prisoners.
Bernard has recently (tentatively) won back the right to put artwork on envelopes he sends to his friends on the outside. Prison officials had been confiscating and/or returning mail on which Bernard has drawn anything that resembles artwork. With no justification, this rule was handed down with a 30 day isolation punishment.
Here are some examples of pieces that HAVE made it to us on the outside (click on the thumbnail to see a larger version):
| NEW PIECES (AUGUST 2000): | |||
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| New Pieces (FEB 2000): | ||
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Examples of Bernard's art and poems are also at: http://www.poormagazine.com/writing/notes_1.html.