On January 13th, 1968,
Johnny Cash performed at Folsom Prison near Sacramento in front of a sea of
inmates and prison guards. The subsequent release of his live album At Folsom Prison was met with booming
success and helped Cash rebound after drug and alcohol problems nearly derailed
his career.
.
Nearly fifty years later, Canadian musician
Zoe Boekbinder is once again putting the spotlight on prison life through music.
Along with Ani DiFranco, she is currently working on her newest creation, the
Prison Music Project, which will be a collaboration of songs, raps, and poems
by nine prisoners at New Folsom Prison, which is located next to the original
site. Boekbinder began performing and volunteering at New Folsom in 2010 through
its arts program and came to recognize the talent of the inhabitants of the
maximum-security facility.
Boekbinder has two primary goals in
completing this work. She wants to give a voice to the otherwise ignored and to
help the public realize the humanity of the incarcerated. She has noted that
the men in New Folsom are remembered only for the worst things they have ever
done, and she wants them to be seen not merely as criminals but as talented
artists. She also wants to bolster funding for prison arts programs, which is
why she is donating all album profits to such programs as well as to reentry
programs for convicts finishing their prison sentences. She notes the multiple
benefits of prison arts programs on her website-- studies have proven that such programs
decrease reoffending rates and lead to lower instances of violence within
prisons. Listen to Boekbinder discuss her project here: http://www.cbc.ca/radio_template_2012/audiopop.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=2657073923.
In her youth Boekbinder traveled
back and forth between Canada and California. In high school she became
involved in theater. As a senior she befriended Kay Pettigrew, a member of the
jazz choir, who encouraged her to pursue a career in singing and songwriting.
In 2004, Zoe moved to California more permanently and formed the band
Vermillion Lies with her sister Kim. In 2008 Zoe began to perform on her own,
releasing “Artichoke Perfume”, “Darling Specimens”, and “Baby Bandit” in the
following years.
Not all creative individuals fall
under the same personality categories, yet certain traits are usually linked to
creativity. In terms of the five factor model, Boekbinder’s life travels,
musical exploration and skill, and willingness to go beyond her comfort zone
reflect openness to experience, which is considered to be the most correlated
factor in linking personality to creativity. She exhibits other traits common
to creators as well including conscientiousness and agreeableness.
Boekbinder now lives in New
Orleans. According to her website, she “has an affinity for mason jars, rusted
metal, Dolly Parton, sea creatures, botanical drawings, dilapidated barns,
chocolate, avocados, broken hearts, port wine, and the open road” and “wants to
own a farm someday.”
Boekbinder is planning to release the
Prison Music Project in a year. She is accepting donations to help cover the costs of producing the
album on her website: http://www.zoeboekbinder.com/prisonmusicproject/.
Sources and additional information can be found
below:
I think this is awesome. It's great because obviously these men have been imprisoned for criminal actions, but that doesn't mean they're not people. People with a capacity for creativeness and an inherent desire to express it - yet they lack an outlet. It's going to be interesting to see what sort of pieces these prisoners create. You would think that imprisonment would suppress the individual's sense of creativity, but I bet there are some who use incarceration as a source of inspiration for their work. It's an experience that not many people have, so it'll be very interesting to see what these prisoners turn their sentences into (creatively). If this project is successful, it would be neat to see what sort of changes in the prison system, if any, come from it. The idea of having an art program within the prison system is something I would definitely support. Great piece!
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