W-b Will Bill Company Over Storm Sewer Problem

33 Soldiers Recalled At Service

Tuesday, September 17, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





`Doing Time' worth your time &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Many of my colleagues would prefer that the men in the photos hanging from
the wall of the art gallery would themselves swing by the neck until
deadKiller convicts and other state prison inmates are not high on most
citizens' lists of endearing species. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Hang 'em high" is more like it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But an art show? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Don't expect a gallery-sponsored exhibit featuring photos of ferocious
faces to tug at the heart strings of the Wyoming Valley or any valley. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Expect dull disapproval or, more likely, refusal to take notice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Critics come with the territory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When Times Leader photographer Clark Van Orden and I agreed to host the
opening reception of "Doing Time," a photojournalism essay at the MacDonald
Art Gallery at College Misericordia, we invited a couple hundred guests for
wine, cheese and consciousness-raising. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A handful showed up Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 None of the judges, corrections administrators, elected officials or law
enforcement authorities who earn a living from the criminal justice system
attended. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of course, some people had legitimate reasons to miss the unveiling of our
show so we didn't take the slight personally. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Besides, contemplating the lives of convicted killers, rapists and other
assorted assaulters appeals to most people about as much as volunteering to
teach reading at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's where the men portrayed in the display are doing time. Thus, the
title of our exhibit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The photos and text originally ran in a Dec. 17 "Times Leader Special
Report." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Over a two-year period, Van Orden and I had done our own time at the
prison, hanging out, interviewing, observing, thinking and feeling. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Each day we left the prison, we gave silent thanks whenever the doors
opened and closed behind us and we could go home to people we love. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Valuing our interest, the inmates wrote us letters, invited us to family
picnics and introduced us to other convicts. We wrote back, went to the
picnics and talked with more prisoners. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although we accepted their gratitude and took their appreciation to heart,
we also realized that jail-smart, street-wise inmates are notorious users. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Today, though, neither of us feel used. We came away from prison far wiser
than when we went in. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Maybe that's why we agreed to do something more than offer a one-day
throw-away that came among the discount consumer coupons of a Sunday
newspaper. So we agreed to trust Brian Benedetti, a public school teacher who
supervises the Misericordia gallery, to put an exhibit together. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Benedetti mounted Van Orden's photos, including some we had left out of the
pull-out section of the paper. I selected text from the work that suited each
face and even chose music to be played while people filed by the images. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blues songs filled the air Sunday. Stark faces stared down from the walls.
Words fit various frames of reference. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the final analysis, the little exhibit succeeds. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 What it accomplishes, however, is debatable. That, in itself, is a
reflection of art's mystery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But it won't make a viable difference toward the common good unless people
want to learn from the faces and lives of men and women whose existence
parallels those of Mark Robinson, John Norris, Clarence R. Davis Jr., Donald
Robinson, Franklin Castle, Floyd Sarvey, Alfred Dudley, Robert K. Hubble and
the others who are imprisoned at our friendly neighborhood state pen. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Visit the exhibit if you can. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's free and runs through Oct. 6. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. and 6-8
p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon-5 p.m. Friday; and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Take time to care. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It might help prevent somebody you love from one day doing time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Steve Corbett's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`doing Time' Worth Your Time 
Many Of My Colleagues Would Prefer That The Men In The Photos Hanging From The 
Wall Of The Art Gallery Would Themselves Swing By The Neck Until Dead.

`doing Time' Worth Your Time Many Of My Colleagues Would Prefer That The Men In The Photos Hanging From The Wall Of The Art Gallery Would Themselves Swing By The Neck Until Dead.