The Fortune Society – Insider Art: 2006
Auction Ends: Dec 17, 2006 05:00 PM EST

Incarceration

'Heaven Ain't  A Lot Like Texas' by John Adams

"Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Texas" by John Adams

Item Number
011os
Sold
30 USD to ndolgin
Number of Bids
2  -  Bid History

Item Description

31.5"x 22.5''; Canson watercolor paper and Liquitex acrylic

Item Special Note

While I was painting, I was thinking about what to name my gruesome work and I heard an old country song come on the prison radio - some guy singing about how much he loved Texas. He said, "If Heaven ain't a lot like Texas, I don't wanna go." Now I've no knowledge of Heaven, but something tells me it probably doesn't have the largest prison system and execution rate in the free world. Whoever the guy was who hoped Heaven compared to Texas, was likely disappointed. I've been here ten years and my life is draining away with the time. I've been beaten, pissed on, starved, humiliated and teased like an animal for an entire decade, with no end in sight. I feel like this place, this state, is consuming my humanity and unless I continue to paint, it will eat me alive.  I can scream to my heart's content, but it provides little relief. I found the only effective way to scream away my pain is through a paintbrush. It truly keeps me human.