A few weeks ago, I blogged about a budding artist. Johnson is a prisioner, and uses the dyes from M&M's. The NYTimes included a slideshow of some of his paintings, which I think are really quite good. Now one of the results of the show of Johnson's work, was sales. But, the man, hasn't kept a dime. His wish was that ALL proceeds go to a specific charity.
Since Johnson has received so much attention, the warden has decicded to punish him.
A prison artist in California who uses the dye from M&M’s for paint has been disciplined for what a prison official yesterday called “unauthorized business dealings” in the sale of his paintings. The prison has also barred the prisoner, Donny Johnson, from sending his paintings through the mail.
Mr. Johnson’s work has been on display for the last several weeks at a gallery in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Twenty of his paintings have been sold, for $500 each.
Mr. Johnson had donated the paintings to the Pelican Bay Prison Project, a charity which says it will honor Mr. Johnson’s wish that it use the proceeds from the show to help the children of prisoners.
According to a “serious rules violation report” issued by the prison last month, Mr. Johnson ran afoul of a corrections department regulation that prohibits engaging in a business or profession without the warden’s permission. The regulation defines a business as “any revenue-generating or profit-making activity.”
Francisco Jacquez, the chief deputy warden at Pelican Bay State Prison, in Crescent City, Calif., said the violation could extend Mr. Johnson’s sentence or restrict his privileges. “There are some consequences, and that’s what we use to maintain discipline in prison,” Mr. Jacquez said, declining to be more specific.
Here's the thing. Johnson's paintings are painted on postcards, which he then sends to his mom and other family members and friends. And, the prision officials are barring him from, essentially having contact with his family.
But, the legal question is whether Johnson is engaging in a business. Is art work that happens to sell in the public and the proceeds used to benefit a charity, a business or profession? If it is, then Johnson should get permission from the warden to continue. If painting away your days in solitary confinement, and mailing your pictures to family and friends is not a business, then the warden is in the wrong.
Personally, I don't think this is a business. And I also think there is something of greater value that the warden and deputy attorney general, Pamela Hooley, are missing. They are denying the public from an innovative artist, and, in my opinion, they are restricting him from meaningful personal rehabilitation.
We often see prisioners turn to religion. Why shouldn't Johnson be allowed to turn to art?
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