Favorite Object- Eastern State Penitentiary

States of Security/ Security States

Installed March 2012

Painting on Mesh; ESP Outer Wall

Ryan Legassicke

I chose Ryan Legassicke's installation on the Eastern State Penitentiary's outer security wall. It was best visable from the baseball diamond while walking outside around the grounds of the penitentiary. It models and shows the actual sizes of other walls and boundaries around the world. From left to right there is the security wall used at the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto, The Berlin Wall. The USA/Mexico border fence, The Peace Line Wall in Northern Ireland, and the Israeli West Bank Separation Barrier. The installation uses the Penitentiary's wall to display it, thus using another wall in its example. 

This object is important to me for two reasons: 1- I liked the Eastern State Penitentiary wall and was interested in how it was used in an installation. 2- It conveys a powerful message about borders and how they are used around the world, and it gave me a visual reference that I have always been curious about. 

I immediately impressed by the sheer magnitude of the size of the wall from the moment we had arrived and as we were walking around during our tour. It was what my eyes kept coming back to and what I was usually looking at. I have a background in geology, so all the rocks were interesting to me even though they weren't in a natural formation for me to try and guess the geological history as I tend to do out of habit. But I will admit I did  immediately try to identify what type of rock was used to build the wall. Pretty sure it's granite. Full of shimmery micas that I love so much, which was probably another reason why I was so distracted by the wall. 

Being a visual learner, having a visual model of the walls side by side to compare was fascinating to me and I finally had something to relate what my mind had pictured these walls to look like. Everytime I read an article about any of these places, the Israeli- Palestine division, I try picture what this wall and separation must look like. Google and usually the articles I'm reading can provide an image, but having the comparison to other walls right there in front of me was unlike any photo I've ever seen. And having the actual penitentiary wall there as the largest representation made an even bigger impact to what these walls were like. I stood there and imagined how it would feel to be standing by these other walls. And as they became bigger, the political significance grew as well. The penitentiary wall was built to keep prisoners from escaping to keep them in. These barriers around the world are built to keep others out. The artist statement about how significant the fall of the Berlin Wall was for society and moving forward but yet new walls are being built around the world. And they are bigger and bigger. As I reflected on it, it made me wonder what the future holds. Rising tensions across the globe and the imminent threat of more war on the horizon makes me feel as though some of these walls won't be coming down as symbolic representations of freedom like the Berlin Wall, but rather to exploding hostility. The longer I stood near the wall thinking about what social barriers and dividers mean to a country, the smaller I felt. Legassicke's piece portrays a powerful message, and is part of the reason why I liked it so much. 

It is on display on the Eastern State Penitentiary's outer wall, on the inside of the penitentiary. The mesh is hung by supports from the top of the wall. The mesh is a great material for this installation since it moves with the wind, and its transparency allows to you see the wall through it. Other things nearby is the baseball field and the tower cam. The open courtyard of the baseball field allows for full viewing of the installation. Viewing the installion both up close and afar is beneficial to the viewer. 

Fields of study that would increase my understanding would be sociology and cultural geography. A more in depth history of the countries and territories of where these walls were built and a more detailed explaination of why they were built. 

Someone who might not be intersted in this installation could be someone with little understanding of these barriers or geography and can not make a content connection to what they are looking at. Someone who also doesn't care about these barriers and has no interest in them because they find them to be a waste of space. Or someone who wishes to appreciate the beautiful architechture of the Eastern State Penitentiary and finds the large full scale installion in the baseball field courtyard space to be jarring and out of place to the historical feel of the penitentiary. 

Opposing views of this object could describe that the piece has more to do with the shapes of the silohettes rather than the size of the walls. Along with that, the types of barriers being built and how they have changed in appearance over time. 

Other experiences that would engage the viewer could be personal stories about people living in areas where there are these dividers and how it had or is currently impacting their lives. A narrative on what the barriers mean to them. If they are supportive of them and feel they are neccessary or if there needs to be a social change to bring them down. Also, a narrative on how people get around barriers. At the Eastern State Penitentiary, more than a hundred inmates managed or attempted to escape and some of their stories are told. Additional stories on escaping the penitentiary can be told along with how people have gotten around these global walls. 

Bonus geological picture I took... check out these sweet stalactites growing inside of building! So cool!!