The House That Herman Built

Exhibition Catalog, Artists Space Gallery, NYC

For over thirty-six years Herman Joshua Wallace has been in solitary confinement in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Solitary Confinement, or Closed Cell Restriction [CCR] at Angola consists of spending a minimum of 23 hours a dayin a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell. In 2003 the activist/artist Jackie Sumell asked Herman a very simple question: “WHAT KIND OF HOUSE DOES A MAN WHO HAS LIVED IN A 6 feet by 9 feet BOX FOR OVER 30 YEARS DREAM OF? “The answer to this question has manifested in a remarkable art project rooted in social sculture and community building called THE HOUSE THAT HERMAN BUILT. More information is available at: http://www.hermanshouse.org.

This piece is a catalog for the Jackie Sumell’s project when it was exhibited at Artists Space Gallery in New York City. One of the first alternative spaces in New York, Artists Space was founded in 1972 to support contemporary artists working in the visual arts, video and electronic media, performance, architecture and design. The mission of Artists Space is to support artistic experimentation and dialog in contemporary culture.

This piece is an accordion-fold brochure containing a conversation between Joseph del Pesco, curator, and Jackie Sumell, artist, a time line documenting Jackie’s correspondence with Herman Wallace, photographs and drawings from the exhibition, and a fold-out poster containing the blueprints of Herman’s imagined house.

Introductory spread (above) showing the time line at bottom and conversation between curator and artist in differentiating colors.

Blueprints of the house (above) that Herman Wallace imagined for himself while in solitary confinement.