Tuesday 29 September 2009

Prisoner's Model

"And the art exhibition was sponsored by B.P. Held at the lush head-office of the oil company ..." History can be a snapshot too. And The Red Crayola's Prisoner's Model (with Art & Language, of course) is just that. A miniature capturing the moment. You'll recognise the moment. The Academy holds an exhibition of prisoners' art, sponsored by global corporation. Corporate sopcial responsibility, and all that. Putting something back into the community. Good PR. The 'opening' is held at the company's lavish HQ in the centre of London. Gets some good media coverage. And what does the 'nameless' prisoner get out of it? "Would you rather have your hand cut off or be appreciated by a toff?" asks Mayo Thompson at the end of probably the only pop song to use the word penology. At the time of the LP this appeared on (Kangaroo?) Mayo was the hardest working man in showbiz, with his fingerprints all over the pop underground of the time. He was also playing with Pere Ubu ...

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