Chef salad with ranch dressing, double meat cheeseburger, french fries, ketchup and a chocolate shake: That’s what Randall Hafdahl, Sr. requested for his last meal when he was executed by the state of Texas on Jan. 31, 2002.
The emphasis on last meals is represented in a series of photographs by Robert Ziebell documenting the last meals of death row inmates that will be on display in the Adell McMillian Gallery from March 1-15.
“Art on Death Row” consists of art by people facing the death penalty and by artists commenting on the subject of the death penalty. The exhibit is presented by the UO Cultural Forum, which will hold an opening reception at 4 p.m. Saturday in the gallery.
Mary Rasmussen, visual arts coordinator at the Cultural Forum, said some of the art might not normally be considered especially good, but “if you know that the guy is on death row, you interpret it differently.”
The process of putting the show together began last year when a coordinator applied for a grant for the exhibit. Rasmussen became interested in the exhibit right away when she started in her position this year.
“I thought that this would be a good way to show that people on death row are people, and that they have talents,” she said.
Rasmussen began research for the exhibit in the summer by
corresponding with death row inmate James Anderson. Since Dec. 12, 1979, Anderson has been held at the San Quentin State Prison in California. There are many limitations on incarcerated artists, said Rasmussen, and Anderson was anxious for a chance to display
his paintings.
“They can’t just walk into a gallery and show their work,” she said.
Rasmussen added that inmates are not allowed to profit from the sale of their work. Artwork by five death row inmates, including Anderson, will be shown.
Accompanying this work will be two sets of photographs about the death penalty. Ziebell, a Texas photographer, will present a series documenting inmate’s final meals. Ken Light, author of “Texas Death Row,” will show portraits of individuals on death row.
Religious studies major W. Morgen Smith will be presenting two performance art pieces for the opening reception on Saturday. They will focus on the rites of last meals and words. Smith said the “last words” piece is about the last words of women on death row and their relationship with a higher power.
“It has a lot to do with women finding God or Jesus while they’re on death row,” Smith said.
The “last meal” piece uses information from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that lists all last meal requests made from 1973 to the present. Smith explained how one man didn’t want to eat, but his mom insisted that he eat something before he died, so he had a burger. Another man wanted dirt for a voodoo ritual, and another requested Communion.
“People request the oddest things,” Smith said.
The exhibit is being held in conjunction with “The Law and Politics of the Death Penalty: Abolition, Moratorium or Reform” conference presented by the Wayne Morse Center on Law and Policy in the School of Law on March 1 and 2.
Keynote speakers will include Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking“ and Charles Ogletree, Jr., a Harvard University legal scholar. Panel discussions will be held concerning the impact of capital punishment on victims and families and the relationship between race, gender and the death penalty.
The Adell McMillian Gallery
is located near the EMU Ball-room. For more information, call
346-4373.