The Tower, by Beth Thielen
(Beth Thielen) The Tower. Book design by Beth Thielen. Linoleum prints, original writing and binding by various prisoners at San Quentin State Prison and the California Rehabilitation Centers between the years 2006 and 2007. California. Approximately 14” x 9” at its widest point - closed. Prints on Arches Text Wove 120 gr in Daniel Smith Domestic Velvet Black AC63. Text in Times New Roman printed on an Epson Stylus CX4600 on Neenah Classic Crest, Solar White 24 lbs acid free papers. Bound in Gray Canapetta Italian Book Cloth over acid free, Lignin free Binder’s Board. Jade 403 PVA, methyl cellulose paste, Black Arches cover, Canson Mi-Teintes Steel gray, Pearl, Barbour’s Irish Linen Thread. This work has a book forming part of the four internal sides. Also included are two small booklets; one with the physical details of the work and the other giving ‘Notes on the Tower Book’. In an edition of 30 handprinted and bound books, only about 8 copies are available for sale; the majority of the edition has been given to the participants.
Notes on the Tower Book - by Beth Thielen:
”This is the only book edition of its kind. It is a collaboration between the art program at San Quentin and the now disbanded Women’s program at the California Rehabilitation Center, in Norco, California. I’ve been teaching in the California prison system since 1985. When I first started teaching, it was through the California Arts Council Artist in Residency Grants. Selected by a panel of my peers, I received $1600 per month to provide 20 hours per week of instruction at the participating institution. Many young artists in the state of California started their careers with this program. That program no longer exists, and the tolerance for this kind of program is increasingly threatened.
I should start with what I bring in. Here’s a partial list of my tools and supplies that I must get pre-approved by the Artist Facilitators, before teaching my classes:
2 pairs 6” blunt-end scissors
2 retractable olfa cutters w/ 12 snap off blades per knife
18 - 4” bookbinders’ needles
2 - 24” metal rulers
2 - Quick-Grip mini bar clamps
2 - 1/2” wood chisels
12 - 8” bone folders
1 gallon Jade 403 PVA glue
5 tubes assorted printing inks
6 - 4” brayers
6 - 12” brayers
3 bottles methyl cellulose paste
12 3” wide foam brushes
Assorted books, paper and book cloth
Assorted binder’s board
1 yellow hand cart
Trust is the key to working in this world. When Officer Strobelt asks me as I leave the prison: “Do you have your murder weapon?” I must indeed have my retractable knife with all the snap off blades accounted for. Like the Hippocratic oath, I must first “do no harm.” The officers and staff of the prison need to know I can be trusted. The inmates also need to trust me to watch my tools. They don’t want to see their cell torn up and their bodies searched because a tool is missing. We make the structure of trust transparent to everyone. When everything is well lit, it’s harder for trouble to develop.
My primary interest has been to provide art classes to women in prison. By using the “craft” of book arts, I’ve been able to draw into the program many women who might not otherwise investigate art. Through private funding, I purchase the best materials I can find: Canapetta linen book cloth from Italy, Irish linen threads, archival glues, French printmaking paper. The value of the materials reflects the value I place in my students. I bring the best to encourage the best and they never fail me. It’s amazing how simple and true this formula is. Works from my classes are in collections at the Getty Museum of Art and The Library of Congress, to name a few. The purpose of the work is to give my inmate students the proper “dress” to attend the ball, to become part of the conversation about incarceration when a more enlightened perception is possible.
We are living in a time of twisted priorities, of which our overflowing prisons are symptomatic. Teddy Roosevelt was the first to coin the concept of the “living wage.” That it should be “…a standard high enough to make morality possible.” When I look at the images created by my students or read their stories, I see Dorothea Lange’s Dust Bowl refugees. I give this as an example to illustrate that I am responsible as an artist to see the context I exist in. Art is about seeing. As you look at this work, I challenge you to see large. “
Related items: Artists' Books, Poetry, Structure, Beth Thielen