I was invited by my friend, curator, and frequent collaborator, Pedro Alonzo to be part of the Open Source project he put together with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Philadelphia Mural Arts program. I love the concept of Open Source because I believe in democratizing art and using art as a way to disseminate images with social commentary. My art has always had a viral component, but the Internet has allowed me to not only share my work with a much larger audience, but also to provide digital tools to that audience to help spread my images if they believe in the messages. I chose to focus on mass incarceration for my contribution to Open Source because I think the true costs and problems of the current system need to be addressed, and prison reform is needed. Prison reform is a complex topic, but please check out the Vice examination of the issue HERE. I designed two prison reform murals for the Open Source project. I will be painting one with my assistants, while the other will be painted by the inmates who are part of the Mural Arts program at Graterford Prison. The inmates can’t leave the prison, so they paint on parachute material, which is then adhered to the outdoor wall with acrylic gel medium. Both murals are about de-stigmatizing incarceration. Seventy million Americans have a criminal record (I’m one of them), and when re-entering societ,y it is important that these people have training and ways to overcome the label of “ex-con” that can be so stifling to opportunities. I chose to present, within stamp-style compositions, a man and woman who were incarcerated, but are now doing inspiring and noteworthy things with their lives. – Shepard
