Art is by Bev Jackson Cotter

Bev Jackson Cotter is a member of the Albert Lea Art Center, where the show “On Both Sides of the Bars” will be on display through April 21.

Can art heal? Can art help us to find common ground? Can art bring us together?

The Albert Lea Art Center, in conjunction with the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center, is sponsoring the most incredible exhibition. “On Both Sides of the Bars” is a showing of paintings, drawings and writings by the detainees, inmates and staff, and all I could think of when I attended a preview was, “This could be a showing of art by anyone, anytime, anyplace. How much we are alike.”

Thanks to Heather Coombs, Freeborn County jail program coordinator; Jim Dalton, art teacher; Carolyn Smith, creative writer; Carolina Pena, translator; Tom Mullen, Art Center gallery manager; and the Art Center staff, this show promises to open eyes and hearts to the value of art in our lives.

Like the result of most art classes, many of the paintings contain the same subject. Yet each one is done with the personality and style of the individual artist. Whether local scenes or still life paintings, they each carry different images. The abstracts are, of course, very individual.

The drawings are original, and the writings are personal and vulnerable.

When you attend the showing, plan to slowly peruse the art works and then sit down by one, or all three, of the notebooks, and read the stories of pain and joy that have been written. I need to share with you some excerpts from their writings. Keep in mind these men have a variety of skill levels and many of the stories have been translated to the best of our ability.

“One cold September night, I looked up at the night, saw true beauty. True beauty of the unexplained. True beauty of the days of future past. As I looked up … I humbled myself with the experience of being a spec in a world that’s only a spec. The universe is filled with possibilities …”

“… French is my first language. I had an accident and was one month in a coma. God helps me in life.”

“… I saw that she was an old woman. I greeted her with a big smile and I said to her, ‘Good evening.’ She responded by saying, ‘Son, it’s a beautiful evening after a sunny day.’ When she said those words, she put her hand in her pocket and said, ‘Here, have this candy.’ The candy was Snickers and it sweetened my life and made me want to be good.”

“Joseph (omitted) was my great-great grandfather. He was an immigrant from England and came to Minnesota while it was still a territory. His first dwelling was a sod house …”

“… I have sadness for our kids and the reason I wrote this is because I want people to read and say, ‘This guy is right. Most of us, 75 percent, forget about our kids.’ That’s why I am going to be a counseling teacher for kids one day. Let’s love our kids, so they make us happy and not sad.”

“There is a valley that depicts ancient history at its best … Paintings on walls tell stories of what majestic people roamed and ruled … Structures that wonder, give example of progress. Progress that today baffles modern civilization … This valley is the Valley of the Kings.”

“There was a man that traveled far, destitute for the night so he roamed about all because he would not yield to that witch and her wicked will … oh how much so he grew sullen. There was a man that traveled far, who asked himself, if his treasures were worth all this grief. He felt ashamed at his thought, stood astraight all princely like. ”

“This may sound a bit odd to some, but this is the one person that comes to mind when someone asks the simple question ‘Who do you admire?’ My ex-fiance was always there for me.”

“… At the same time I still got a chance to go to college or a tech school because I want to show my daughter that school is important. I wouldn’t want my daughter to follow my same footsteps. I would want her to do better than me …”

“To my love, thanks for all the happiness you have given me and the effort you make for me in the good times and the bad times. We are going to be victorious in life …”

These excerpts were taken from stories written by people from across the U.S., Guatemala, South Sudan, Honduras, Ecuador and Somalia.

Can art heal? Can art help us to find common ground? Can art bring us together?