Photography
By Eli Reed
By Jim Goldberg
By Jim Goldberg
The photo above comes from a 1998 collection by Eli Reed, detailing the first women’s chain gang formed in September of 1996. Formed by Joe Arpaio, a man dubbed “America’s toughest sheriff,” the chain gang was a voluntary program for women who had been isolated due to behavioral infractions in prison, not for the crimes that resulted in their incarceration. These women work together to clean up highways, remove trash from public spaces, dig graves, and clear tumbleweeds.
Although I’ve always considered chain gangs to be an antiquated idea and practice, 1998 is not that far in history. These women are literally chained to each other, forcibly connected as they repay their debt to society, or rather, the prison whose rules they have violated. Is the practice of chaining prisoners to each other antiquated? To me, it is reminiscent of slavery, and leaves me feeling ill at ease.
“Chaos In County Jail” is a 1992 photo taken by Jim Goldberg in California. I selected the photo because I’m fascinated by the woman’s expression as she holds the phone to her face. She looks calm, peaceful, and at ease. Is she the criminal in this case? Or is she visiting someone? What circumstances led her to be where she is, and why does the photo communicate an acceptance of her position?
Once again, I am drawn to the symbolism that the telephone serves in the prison system. The subject in this photo could be making a call to a loved one, a lawyer, or could be using it to talk to whoever is on the other side of the glass. I wonder who she is trying to connect to.
This photo of the Illinois Stateville Correctional Center was taken fairly recently, in 2002. I chose to include it in my anthology because the designs for this prison were based on Jeremy Bentham’s 1787 design for the panopticon prison house.
Bentham is a famous historical philosopher and social reformer, and is associated with modern utilitarianism. This idea of doing the greatest good or creating the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people was a key influence in Bentham’s work for social reform – I am curious as to why his deep regard for happiness led him to design prisons. Perhaps he designed prisons as a way to keep the greatest number of “innocents” happy, and regarded the “guilty” population as the group whose happiness would need to be sacrificed.