Paintoems- are poems inspired by paintings or drawings; or paintings and drawings inspired by poems. They are combined together as a single work of Digital art. All paintoems are classified as a Creative Commons (CC). This means the public has the right to freely use these works as long as the artist or artists are acknowledged.
Paintoems come out of the world of prison art. The early 21st century has seen a turnaround regarding the purposes of incarceration. No longer viewed solely as punishment for crimes, but now can encompass rehabilitation. The strong emphasis on rehabilitation of the incarcerated derives from the restorative justice movement. A social advocacy movement with the belief that those who are incarcerated, didn’t just get there by accident. There were social, political, and economic factors that may have contributed to unlawful behavioral choices. In some communities, especially those of color, there can be a lack of opportunities, like access to good-paying jobs, and a decent education. These factors can have a devastating effect on a person’s options. As one longtime resident of South Los Angeles put it, “the only businesses they allow us to have around here, are liquor stores and churches. Liquor stores to make you sin, and churches to forgive your sins. The cycle begins the next morning at 6:00, when you bail Shorty out of jail.” [Editor’s Note: Bailing Shorty out of jail is an euphemism to mean a small/short can of beer, but can mean any kind of liquor, i.e., Shorty. Then freeing Shorty, or bailing Shorty out of jail, by buying his freedom from the liquor store.]
The restorative justice movement believes while incarcerated, let’s provide this person with the opportunity to have a successful re-entry back into society. If government, while they have these men and women in their custody won’t do it, once released, advocates will. This can include transitional housing, job training, education, jobs, substance abuse, or domestic abuse services. In addition to helping restore the whole person back into the community, restorative justice advocates are also active in changing laws. This can require lots of trips to the State capitol. Petition drives, to get petition signatures for putting measures on the voting ballot. This includes all the efforts that are required to get a measured passed. Restorative justice advocates don’t solely help prisoners, but give aide to family members of those incarcerated. Restorative justice takes a holistic approach to America’s mass incarceration problem. “It really takes on a whole new approach how we see one another,” says one advocate.
Prisoner artist, and Prisoner Restorative Justice Coordinator, Donald “C-Note” Hooker, created paintoems in 2016.
“I had found that prison art exibitions weren’t solely about the visual arts. There was always some literary component to it. Be it creative writing, poetry, or small plays. So the curators who were putting on these exhibits equally felt, having the public hear in their own words, the prisoners voice, greatly enriched their prison art exhibitions. Then there are the prisoner publications, which can be newsletters, newspapers, or magazines. They also in their publications want to publish, preferrably, politically inspired drawings, paintings, or poems. So in 2016, I came up with the idea, let’s put them together. Let’s create vignettes of poems inspired by paintings, or paintings/drawings inspired by poems; package them together, and give them to the public without ever getting our expressed written permission to do so. So now, a curator can just download from the internet, one of these paintoems, and enlarge it to whatever size they choose, and use this combination of painting + poem as part of their exhibit. Publishers, or anyone else, can use these paintoems however they want. We have one caveat, they can only be used as long as the artist or artists are acknowledged. When these works are published they always contain the artist name. Often times it’s two different artists, because one has contributed to the visual, the other the literal. As a Prisoner Restorative Justice Coordinator, I get artists together from different disciplines to create these works of art. Prisoner artists are vital to the restorative justice movement. Prison art is an invaluable part of charitable fundraising, for legislative reform, prison reentry programs, and aide to families with a loved one behind bars.”
Editor’s Note: Here’s a link to the world’s first paintoem.
Mprisond
If you know of any prisoner who would like to have their Paintoems published, or any non-prisoner, we’ll publish them on one of our poetry platforms.
Mprisond Poetz
The Street Poetz
Just inform us if they were created while incarcerated, or free, and send them to:
mprisondpoetz@gmail.com
Mprisondthotz 