Confined Inspiration

Graterford prisoners raise the bars with art

by Drew Lazor

The seed was planted after Diggs read an apocalyptic article discussing how citizens might cope with disaster brought on by global warming. "People would have to be relocated, temporary shelters would have to be set up," says Diggs. "I thought I could work with prisoners, putting their experience living in tight spaces to work."

Diggs also drew inspiration from a 2005 exhibit by Chicago's Temporary Services that featured drawings of inmate-crafted comfort gadgets. "I really liked the piece, but something about it kept bothering me," she says. "It provided a view into the inventiveness [of prisoners], but it didn't translate outside of prison. [Their] expertise could be put to use by the rest of the culture."

Diggs connected with Graterford through Jane Golden, director of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program. The next step was acquiring a grant from the NYC-based Creative Capital Foundation. She visited Graterford for the first time in January 2005, and immediately felt accepted by the prisoners. "They gave me these complicated handshakes, and I was golden," she recalls.

Diggs grew fond of her group, which wavered between 10 and 15 members, the majority of whom are serving life sentences. "I saw them on good days and on bad days. They have the range that all of us do. They're as human as anybody."

It wasn't long before Diggs realized that the incarcerated see things very differently from those of us on the outside. Life behind bars, she says, redefined the inmates' understanding of space. "I asked what, for them, would be an ideal space, and there was just silence," she says. "One guy said, 'I think it's impossible for us to answer that.' He grew up in the projects, went to juvey and then prison. [He saw space] as confining … he just wanted to get away from it."

Brainstorming sessions gave birth to the project's theme: furniture. Working in small groups, inmates created a slew of multifunctional designs, eventually settling on one final product (pictured): a collapsible desk that doubles as a TV station and workspace. The compact design allows users to slide their legs underneath, as well as store small objects on shelves. The inmates painted the desks and applied their own original patterns.

When Diggs first received the grant, the goal of the project was to shop the inmates' products to industrial designers in hopes of reproducing them for consumers. She later realized that that would devalue the project at the core. "The guys decided they would like to give them to people who live in tight spaces already," says Diggs. They settled on the Riverview Home for the Aged, a Holmesburg-based facility specializing in elderly and homeless care.

Diggs doesn't know how the public will react to the show, during which several participants will phone in from Graterford to discuss their experiences. She's hopeful, however, that it will change people's perspectives of the prisoners, whose creative spirits remain steadfast despite their far-from-ideal living situations.

"This project is largely about the process," she says. "What results is a weird combination of industrial design and folk art. Designing by the seat of your pants—out of need—produced this."