Prisoners' Inventions
April 2, 2004 (All day) - May 7, 2004 (All day)
Basekamp, Philadelphia & MASS MoCA
Friday 2 April
Opening Reception
6.00-10.00pm
BASEKAMP
Saturday 3 April
Brunch Discussion with Artists’
starts at Noon
BASEKAMP
exhibition runs 2 April - 7 May 2004
Three years ago Temporary Services invited Angelo, an incarcerated artist, to write and illustrate a booklet about the ingenious, practical, and sometimes bizarre things he has seen prisoners make. Angelo generated more than 100 pages of drawings and text - representing 78 different inventions or skills. The collection offers a glimpse into the social environment of prison, where inventiveness and ingenuity are needed to satisfy even the most basic human desires.
This exhibition will include many of Angelo’s drawings and writings, along with facsimiles of the inventions constructed by Temporary Services. At Angelo’s request, a full-size copy of his prison cell will also be featured. The cell was originally built by fabricators at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art who followed Angelo’s drawings and measurements.
Left: Electric cigarette lighter with saltwater and hot pot resistor variations, 2003. Ballpoint pen drawing on notebook paper,
8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Courtesy of Temporary Services and Angelo.
