CAPTURED: PEOPLE IN PRISON DRAWING PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE
Last time we featured WNW Members #63 Andrew Tider and #2120 Jeff Greenspan, they were watching their Ed Snowden statue get arrested by the NYPD. Now they've got a powerful new book out, titled CAPTURED: People in Prison Drawing People Who Should Be, which pretty much says it all. "For over a year, we asked people in prison to paint or draw people we felt should be in prison–the CEOs of companies destroying our environment, economy, and society." You can pick up a copy here. [At the time we wrote this, book #579 of 1000 total had already been sold, so don't slack!]
Where does your money go? "All profits go towards efforts to elect Bernie Sanders as president. Holding corporations responsible for their crimes and reforming the criminal justice system are pillars of his campaign." Below is Andrew & Jeff's mission statement followed by several sample pages. Head over to the CAPTURED website to get the full picture.
"Corporations frequently commit crimes any average person would be imprisoned for. These corporate crimes devastate our environment, economy and society, yet the companies committing them often get away with only paying a settlement. These payouts do little damage to a corporation's bottom line and are practically baked into their budgets. The cost of doing business.
CAPTURED shines a light on these crimes masquerading as commerce. Through the use of art made by people in prison, this project imagines the highest levels of corporate leadership being personally responsible for their companies’ illegal actions.
Money, power, and political influence allow these companies, and their leaders, to not just break the rules, but make the rules. They are “untouchable.” On the opposite end of society’s spectrum lies another “untouchable”–the incarcerated– who even after paying their debts to society are often treated as unworthy.
The artistry displayed within this project may help viewers see the incarcerated as more than one-dimensional criminals and remind them a prisoner is also a person. They may also remind us a corporation is not a person. A corporation has no conscience. It cannot repent or truly pay for its crimes.
As consumers, we can say there are injustices we are not willing to tolerate. By not supporting companies endangering our health and freedom, and by questioning a system that wields punishment so unevenly, we can stop being mute witnesses."
