Art Show Exhibited in Austin and Houston

The death penalty art show premiered in Austin at Gallery Lombardi from May 6-22, 2006. It was exhibited in Houston at M2 from February 10 - 18, 2007 with an opening night reception at 7 PM on the 10th.  In Austin, there was a gallery talk by Annette Carlozzi, Curator of American and Contemporary Art at the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin. There was also a gallery talk in Houston with Margo Handwerker, Curatorial Assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and instructor at The Glassell School of Art. A smaller selection of the artworks was exhibited in the Texas Capitol Building March 12-18, 2007.

The Austin Chronicle says "the show is nothing short of powerful."

Read more...
 

Postcard Design for Houston Show by Shannon Dudley Photo by Jenn Lindberg

"The End" by Jasmin Hilmer

The End by Jasmin Hilmer
Galley visitors in Houston viewing "The End" by Jasmin Hilmer, which was bought for $2,700.
 
More than 300 artists submitted work to the 2006 Death Penalty Art Show. There were submissions from 38 U.S. states and 19 countries. Artworks on display included paintings, video, photography, sculpture and installation art.

Prize Winners

Congratulations to these award-winning artists:
  • Isabelle Heitzmann of Paris, France won "Best in Show" for "Lethal Injection (Barbie Jail Fun Series)", mixed media, 28x30x61 cm. artist's audio statement. ($500 Prize)
  • Annie Feldmeier Adams of Chicago won second prize for "Last Supper Trading Cards", cardstock and ink, 3.25" x 4.25", set of 52 cards. artist's audio statement. ($250 Prize)
  • Jason Archer of Austin won third prize for "War Tribunal", giclee print, 24 x 16 in. artist's audio statement.($175 Prize)
  • Mark Jenkinson of New York City won a merit award for "Ricky Langley", digital c print, 30 x 40 inches. artist's audio statement. ($50 Prize).
  • Thomas Buchner of Germany won a merit award for his series "World Wide Patent fig. 1, 2, 3"; adhesive tape on printed drawing, 29,8 cm x 21 cm. artist's audio statement. ($50 Prize)
  • Robert Perez, who is on Texas' death row, won "Best Work by an Artist on Death Row" for his two pencil drawings, "Texas Executioner", 22x14 and "Yellow Rose for Friendship", 14x12 in. ($175 Prize)
  • Ben Woitena of Houston won the "Viewers Choice Award" ($100), which was selected by a vote of the opening night reception attendeesfor his work "Dead Man Walking" of painted steel, masonite, plexiglass, photo-montage & xerox copies, 39-38"h x 27"w x 3-1/4"d. ($100 Prize)

Plans for a 2008 Call for Entries

Check back later thiis year. We are making plans to announce a new call for entries for another art show in 2008.  We are looking for venues, so if you are a director of a gallery or a public space, please contact us to discuss holding our next show in your venue. If you are an artist, we hope you start developing ideas for new artwork.

Animating Democracy Through Art

The death penalty has come under intense criticism of late. Innocent people have been released from death row after years of wrongful incarceration. Other innocents, such as ruben cantu in Texas, may have been wrongfully executed. Calls have been made to stop all executions and investigate the system or to abolish it once and for all.

We organize this biennial international, all-media, juried art show to foster the creation of new artwork on the death penalty, to celebrate artwork that may already have been created and to encourage and enhance civic engagement and dialogue about the death penalty.

Democracy is animated when an informed public is engaged in the issues of the day. We hope this art show will reach new and diverse participants and audiences and will stimulate public dialogue about this contemporary social issue and inspire action to make change. Art is a wonderful medium for the transformation and awareness of the world.

We welcome submissions from artists who engage the issue from all sides.
Lawmaker pulls death-penalty art from Texas Capitol exhibit
By The Associated Press
03.15.07 (Link to article)

AUSTIN, Texas — A state lawmaker removed two pieces of art from a Capitol exhibit organized by a group opposed to the death penalty because he said he found the images inappropriate and objectionable.

State Rep. Borris Miles, a Houston Democrat, took issue with a painting of a man hanging from a rope and an illustration of a man tied to an electric chair with the inscription "Doing God's Work."

"We should not prevent the display of art," Miles said on March 13. "But there have to be limits."

Miles said in an e-mail to his House colleagues that he encountered the images while walking through a hall of the Capitol Extension on March 12 with his children, ages 5 and 8.

"Capitol exhibits are supposed to serve a public purpose or be informational in nature. These pictures were hung with no accompanying text or explanation," Miles wrote.

The Texas Moratorium Network, which advocates a two-year moratorium on the death penalty, didn't violate any standards with the exhibit, said Scott Cobb, the group's president.

He said the purpose of the artwork, some of which was created by death-row inmates, was to call attention to the death penalty.

"Nobody has a right to take down what they don't like. (Miles) overreacted and should have gone through the proper channels" to remove the work, Cobb said.

Miles, who has talked with the State Preservation Board about his complaint, said a system should be put in place to screen exhibits.

The preservation board, caretaker of the Capitol, requires that exhibits in the Capitol serve a "public purpose" and have an elected official as a sponsor.

Spokeswoman Julie Fields said the preservation board does not "restrict or censor" exhibitions.

Miles delivered the pieces on March 13 to state Rep. Harold Dutton, another Houston Democrat, the sponsor of the exhibit.

Dutton questioned whether censoring objectionable artwork would defeat the purpose of allowing art displays. The moratorium group has agreed to Dutton's request to leave the pieces out of future displays.

"It doesn't bother me whether it's up or down," Dutton said.

Fields said she doesn't recall ever getting complaints about a Capitol display.

"This is a little overwhelming to us. We don't feel like it's our place to make decisions about what goes into a building or not," she said.
 

Death Penalty Art Show Artist Jasmin Hilmer's Artwork Chosen for Book Cover


Jasmin Hilmer's "The End", which was one of the artworks in Texas Moratorium Network's art show "Justice for All?: Artists Reflect on the Death Penalty" has been selected as the cover art for an upcoming book on the death penalty. Congratulations Jasmin!

The book, by Alan W. Clarke and Laurelyn Whitt, is titled "The Bitter Fruit of American Justice: International and Domestic Resistance to the Death Penalty." It argues that executions in the U.S. have far-reaching effects on relationships between the U.S. and other countries worldwide. It should come out in Fall 2007.

Jasmin's CV

Here is an audio of Alan Clarke speaking on international death penalty law.

Audio Tour

The Perfect WidthThe exhibition used an innovative system called "Guide by Cell" to provide audio descriptions of the artwork in the artists on voices. Visitors to the gallery were able to call a number using their cell phones, punch in a number found next to each artwork and listen to an audio recording of the artist speaking about that artwork. The service was free, except for the use of minutes on the cell phones.

The audio recordings are also posted as links on this website on the pages of those artists who made a recording. For example, listen to this recording by Ebessen Davis speaking about his piece entitled "Killer Instincts".

Artist Spotlight

Ricky Langley Photo by Mark Jenkinson
"Ricky Langley"
Photo by Mark Jenkinson
TMN   tdperc                      city of austin