Art Breaks Out From Behind Bars : Exhibit: Prints and poetry by prison inmates will be on display at Cal State Northridge.

The image is simple--a woman’s face on a black background. Touches of red and gold highlight the crude visage. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the monotype is the artist’s signature:

Leslie Van Houten.

The former Manson family member is one of several dozen prison inmates whose art and poetry will be on display at Cal State Northridge beginning Monday.

A variety of styles are included in the exhibit, “Perimeters: Prints and Poetry,” which also features pieces by prison art teachers. The quality of the work varies--from amateurish to sophisticated.

But with a show such as this, the attraction goes beyond mere color and line, or words put to paper. This art arrives imbued with powerful social context.

“It’s coming from a prison,” said Louise Lewis, director of CSUN’s art galleries. “On a very basic level, there’s an element of curiosity. What kind of art will we get?”

Several of the works follow an expected theme. Shattered images of violence and iron bars fill Q. Langston’s hand-tinted lithograph. Wallace W. Williams’ poem, “The Front,” is an angry litany:

I saw him thru his fist in the air as he talked

about how many heads he busted and seemed proud of.

I saw him push the little guys around.

I saw him curse guards.

I saw him do a thousand push-ups a day.

Similarly predictable sadness and desperation cloud a junkie’s lament by Megan Silva Gaiduk:

I know I love you

because

I habitually let you fix first

I insist you do more ‘ cause you’re bigger

. . .

I fret about your weight while mine dwindles

. . .

and I know you love me

because

you allow me to do these things.

But such themes do not hold true for every print or poem. Some works have color and joy and figures drawn with soft lines.

C. McDonald creates human figures from swirling colors, set against blocks of pale red and turquoise. Joe Shaver’s linocut, “Indian Signs,” is constructed of basic reds, whites and maroons. Enrique Roquigo draws faces beneath brightly colored hats.

“I know the expectation is to see grotesque, gruesome stuff,” said Jim Carlson, a state corrections official. “We have some angry people inside the institutions, just like there are angry people on the street. But we also have a full range of people inside. A lot of the inmates’ work reflects sensitivity.”

Carlson manages the Arts-in-Corrections program, which employs art teachers in 21 California prisons. Some 9,000 inmates regularly attend art workshops and classes, and the resulting work has shown at galleries across the state.

More important to prison officials, the program appears to have a rehabilitative effect. A 1983 study showed that inmates with behavior problems were far less likely to commit rules infractions while working in the arts. A 1987 study showed that parolees who had participated in Arts-in-Corrections were significantly less likely to be recidivists.

“The whole artistic process helps them in thinking through situations. It raises their self-esteem,” Carlson said. He also believes that the art can teach a thing or two to people on the outside.

“Not to diminish the crimes, but the art allows us to view inmates differently,” he said. “It speaks to the potential of some of the people in institutions.”

Program officials approached Lewis last fall to ask if CSUN would be host to an exhibit. There had been numerous inmate shows in Southern California recently, at such places as UC Riverside and Los Angeles City Hall.

Lewis was immediately taken with the idea. The concept has inspired her to think about art and notoriety.

“I wonder what the Keating 5 would produce?” she asked.

“Perimeters: Prints and Poetry” will show Monday through Feb. 16. CSUN design faculty will exhibit accompanying pieces that explore various forms of media and communication. The gallery, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, will be closed Dec. 22 to Jan. 2 for university holidays and will open Jan. 7 to 27 by appointment only. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays. Call (818) 885-2156.