ANNE HAYDEN STEVENS

THE 51st STATE: Prison Neighborhood Arts Project | Statesville Prison, Illinois

Artist Damon Locks has worked for years with artists at Statesville on graphic novels and comics. During the pandemic, when he could not work with the artists in person, Damon reached out to other artists and asked them to do the assignments virtually, alongside the incarcerated artists. The prompts were rich and complicated. These pieces are the outcome of four separate assignments.

ASSIGNMENT #1: CONVERSATION WITH YOURSELF ABOUT LIBERATION: single panel

ASSIGNMENT #2: THE LOST PLACE

ASSIGNMENT #3 CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION: a two page spread

ASSIGNMENT #3 CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION: a second two page spread to complete the Assignment #3

Above: ASSIGNMENT #1: CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF ABOUT LIBERATION. This is about my earliest experiences of racism.

Below: ASSIGNMENT #3: CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION. In this assignment we were to make a two page spread that leads up to a point of transformation. I actually used a cliffhanger at the end of the second page, lol. I did not realize this as I was doing the drawings.

This spread is about the origin story of an avatar I use in my oil paintings. Since starting to study Chinese painting, I realized how few women are depicted in the paintings and documented in the historical record. I started doing some research and began to assemble a strong, intellectual artist in my mind, who moved through the mountains as men did it traditional Chinese landscape painting. In this spread, she is the artist running an artwork production studio that made a piece I saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Mythical Landscape with Immortals. She is shown overseeing the completion of the work, the distribution of the work, and then leaving the studio to head into the mountains.

In the fourth assignment, the second two page spread, she ascends into the sky to be with the immortals, and then returns to her studio replenished. These are pencil, ink, acrylic and gesso on 22x30 drawing sheets.

THE ASSIGNMENTS

LIBERATION

4 panel comic on liberation as a conversation with oneself. Just because it is a conversation with oneself it doesn’t mean you have to draw yourself nor does it limit how many characters are in it--

A TWO PAGE COMIC: THE LOST PLACE

GUIDELINES: Imagine a place that doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe it disappeared, maybe it was destroyed, maybe over time it withered away, maybe it was taken over. This place can be a fantastical place: another world, underground, in the sky, etc. This place can be a literal space: a bookstore, community center, a place you once lived, etc. This place can be an idea: harmony, justice, unity, etc. As far as HOW YOU TELL THE STORY, you can approach this any way that suits you: someone could be interviewing you/someone about this place, you/someone could be remembering on the eve of it’s disappearance, it could be a report on the tv or radio about the place. It is up to you. Remember to rely on patterns, point of view, darks and lights (positive and negative space), to tell your story. Think about how your eye moves around the whole page. If you choose to use color what colors will set the mood best?

Over the 2 pages: 

1.) Describe what it was like. What happened there? What did it look like? What did it feel like? 

2.) Describe why it was so important to people/person. What effect did it have on people? 

3.) Describe what the circumstances of its disappearance were. Why is it gone? What was the cause? What change did its absence cause?

4.) Finally, describe what would need to happen for someone to return to this place.

The theme will be CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION. We are thinking with changing minds and transforming spaces/ neighborhoods/worlds/institutions/etc. One great element of comic books is that they can be read over time so longer story arcs can happen. They want to return to see what happens. We are going to work on that with this assignment.
Here are things to think about while developing this part one of the story:
1.) What is the setting? Establish where the story takes place.
2.) What is the issue? Establish the problems faced.
3.) What forces a CHANGE? What makes the story change requiring things to transform?
4.) What is the beginning of TRANSFORMATION? How can you leave the reader wanting more?
Since this is part one of a two part comic we need to think about SUSPENSE. The end of this two page comic should come RIGHT BEFORE or RIGHT AT the moment of change.
Now for ASSIGNMENT #4

This assignment will be the final part of a two part comic. This will be the 2nd half of the comic with the theme CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION. We are thinking about changing minds and transforming spaces/neighborhoods/worlds/institutions/etc. 

Here are things to think about while developing this part two of the story:

1.) What is the change? What does it look like?

2.) What does this effect? How does it address the problem? 

3.) How do others respond to the change?

4.) What is the conclusion? What effect does this change have? 

ACCOUNTABILITY

Do a two page comic with no less than 4 panels on each page on the theme of Accountability and it has to be a conversation. 

RETURNING

Do a four page comic with no less than 4 panels on each page on the theme of Returning.