Chicago Cubs, 2019

(In the essay i address Julie Greene As Their/They as those were Green's pronouns)

During my time at the gallery exhibition Thank God I’m Home: first meal by the iconic artist Julie Green, I was able to learn more about the artist, their work, and what Green’s work offers and conveys to the public. After viewing the exhibition, I can definitely say Green’s work can be seen and labelled as activist art as their work aims to address the issues of our inhuman and bias justice system. In their work, Green brings awareness to the reality of our justice system and prisoners’ humanity to develop concrete change. Although the artist is no longer here due to their battle with cancer, Green has left behind some of the most impactful, meaningful, phenomenal, and influential work I have experience as well as gotten a chance to actively learn about.

In the exhibition, Julie Green uses vibrant colors to display emotion the exoneree's experience as they had their first meal out of prison and  their first encounter with food and freedom, we sometimes take for granted and it is seen through Green’s work. There are over 2 million people housed in the state prisons, juvenile facilities, and jails. Many are overlooked for crimes they were wrongfully accused of and many young teens are being placed in adult prison systems at the age of 16 and 17 for petty crimes and are being tried as adults. These people are separated from there families as well as the outside world, placed harsh inhuman facilities where even the food lacks the proper nutrition, small in portion, and overall horrible in taste.

I believe Green’s works accurately illustrates simplistic things the exonerees miss when they were imprisoned, such as being in the presence of family and sharing a meal that is better than what they have been given in the past years with people that love them. 

 One of their pieces I believe perfectly exemplifies this and was one of my favorite works in the Thank God I’m Home: first meal exhibition was the At Home With Family, 2021. The piece is an acrylic, fabric, thread, 24k gold, glow in the dark paint on Tyvek. For me the piece gives a feeling of coziness, warmth, and unity with the dark tone of purple being extensively display on the out skirt of the focal point of the piece. The house in the piece represents to me a sense of security prisoners do not often feel when they are in lock up. The exonerees always are alert to there surrounding and on guard as they have to be, due to the intense, stressful, overcrowded, dangerous environment they are placed in. The home also gives off  a feeling of safety and security when viewing it.

The focal point being Robert Hill and his family sharing the first meal since arriving home. From my own perspective and how the piece personally made me feel, those who view this work and can relate to it through their own experience can definitely grasp a deeper connection and feeling to the piece. I think the gold color and 24k gold, signifies the value of this moment Robert Hill experienced when finally connecting with his loved ones, after being repressed from them and the outside world for so long. The front yard and tree’s also signifying Roberts freedom.

 

Green whose pronouns were their/ Theirs, purpose in their works was to tell the stories of people, individually through their work. Once a person is seen and labeled as felon and or prisoner it is common that they are lump into to the poor prison system where they go by numbers and wear the same-colored standard prison wear. Society also plays a role in collectively categorizing and labeling all prisoners the same.

 In the exhibition The Last Supper, each plate documents the last meal of a death-row inmate. I believe the work conveys how society views inmates and how the judicial systems slowly dehumanizes them. I found Greens thought method in the placement of the plates to be logical as well as interesting. A Quote that stuck to me in the YouTube video was when Green says “I wanted them to all be basically white and uniform look like a system, but not a matte set because they represent individuals.” [1:41-1:48}.  The plates are all placed together, closely fixed side by side, leaving not even a finger gap between them, and the plates being all the same color represents to me how the prison system begins to systematizes these people who are no longer seen as individuals once they enter the prison system but as inmates and prisoners…they are seen as nothing more nothing less. Green conveys the concept, that each of these inmates are individuals and have their own personal story by having the plates represent them with the difference in shape and sizes. I believe that Green conveys this same concept in the Thank God I’m Home: first meal exhibition.

 

Another piece I found to be captivating was the Chicago cubs,2019. For the exoneree's first meal he took joy in just a simple meal of a sandwich, fries and shake with the good company of his brother and attorney. I believe like conveyed in the last piece the work shows the values and morals of the exoneree which is family and being a free man. The exoneree’s name is unknown and not much is stated about him in the short exert given. For me the bears ultimately represent the bond between the exoneree and his brother. I believe most of the focus in that moment of his first meal, was on the company of brother which is represented through the bears. I think the focal point of the work is the two bears rather than the drawn outline of food on the side, whereas, in the other works shown the food is drawn in large portion and seems to be the focus in the work. The bears are roaming around a forest together representing catching up on lost time together. The bears give a sense of bond and reconnecting. from my perspective this piece revolves around the lost time prisoners experience with their family members. The trees and forest represent the exoneree reconnecting with the outside world. One quote I found inspiring in the article was he statement in regards to the plates stating “My long-term hope for the project is that we stop having capital punishment and that I stop painting plates.” Although the artist died before her time, I honestly Believe Green left some of the most impactful and inspiring work that will actively continue to bring awareness to the wrongfully convicted and our cruel prison system even after her passing.   

My self-image

 

My self-image is represented by two pictures of my mom, dad, uncle, aunt, and brother. During the time the photo was taken, my mother was 19 and pregnant with me and my father was 20. A couple days after the photo was taken my father was arrested and sent away for a year and a half, I chose these images as my self-image because like the exhibition although it was bitter sweet the photo captures a moment of happiness, unity, family and represents the simplicity in life like family that are missed when being convicted.