|
|
Sunday
February 17, 2019 |
![site index [Picture of
the Day logo]](../cammicro.gif)
i grew up with whitewashed history, and most tourist sites tend towards sanitized revision, especially when big funders tend to punish boat-rockers. so i expected eastern state pen to follow the usual neutral pattern. built in 1829, ESP was the first true penitentiary-- emphasis on penitence, with churchlike vaulted ceilings to inspire reverence. the word "cell" itself comes from monasteries, and the idea was to induce reflection through enforced isolation and silence. the road to hell is paved with good intentions. authorities realized solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment-- which doesn't mean we use it any less--but overcrowding made it impractical, as well. |
 |
i accidentally skipped ahead to stop 10 of the audio tour. instead of the expected fluff about how today's prisons are more humane, art director sean kelley's testimony's a stark critique of USA penology. the oppressive taste of cold stone and cramped quarters was moving and i kept trying to tune into the presence of ghosts, but the most affecting exhibits came at the end--a towering 3D bar graph of escalating incarceration, interactive displays that break down privilege, and heartbreaking requests for photos of life "outside." recidivism is not a pretty word, but this is one place i'd like to come back to. |
|
