Art behind bars

Ukraine’s Academy of Pedagogical Sciences is hosting an exhibit of applied art produced by convicts.

It is now a tradition at the State Department for Correctional Facilities to hold exhibits of art works created by prisoners. The current exhibit is devoted to religion. For people who spend years in a prison camp art may be their only escape — a spiritual one, of course.

When convicts paint Jesus Christ or the Holy Virgin on canvas or wood, they seem to shift to a different world, where there are iron bars, barbed wire, and screeching locks. Orthodox priests claim that when individuals contemplate painting an icon, they are reflecting on a biblical plot and thinking of God. Therefore, they are not thinking of anything bad. If this practice is made a part of everyday life, it will contribute to the correction and spiritual growth of the individual who has committed a sin.

“Unfortunately, there are more people in penitentiaries than the Armed Forces now,” says Pavlo Osnovenko, archpriest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “But while servicemen should be educated in a patriotic spirit, convicts need spiritual care.”

The artistic level of the exhibited works is quite high, testifying to the artists’ talent as reflected in their woodcarvings, paintings, and embroidery. The organizers of the exhibit managed to collect works practically from all over Ukraine.

“We selected the best works,” People’s Painter of Ukraine Volodymyr Sliepchenko says. “The people who produced them are very gifted because, with no formal artistic training, in their graphic art, paintings, and carvings they show mastery in all kinds of techniques and styles. It is impressive. Naturally, these artists need regular professional advice and methodological literature.”

“We held the exhibit precisely in this place because we are convinced that people are people in any situation,” says Vasyl Kremin, president of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. “Convicts should feel the inner ability to live in freedom. Exhibits of this kind will only reinforce this hope.”

The heads of the correctional facilities department have promised to turn this show into a traveling exhibition.