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Twenty-three of them, to be exact, all printed on metal, which makes them "gritty." "Because that's what I saw when I was looking through my viewfinder to the prison," Eberhard said. "The Arts From The Ashes: An Exhibition of The Old Joliet Burnt District Artists" is on display at the museum through September. Eberhard's photographic exhibit, "Behind the Prison Walls," will be available for viewing through May at Gallery Seven, which is housed inside the Gaylord Building in Lockport. An artist reception will be held at the gallery from 6 to 8 p.m. May 4. Eberhard said she became inspired to create an exhibit last fall after taking one of the prison tours. The museum offers several on its website, including a historical tour, a guard tour and a photography tour. "Many people don't know what it looks like on the inside," Eberhard said. "While the idea of prison life is foreign to most of us, it's also interesting to learn what it was like there."
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Eberhard said a former prison guard, Michael Johnson of Joliet, provided some of that information. "He's involved at the museum," Eberhard. "And so he sat down and talked to me, which was very gracious of him. He told me what all the buildings were. One of the things that was very interesting is that he told me where an area was that was a very dangerous area." Eberhard said area wasn't easily visible to the guards because of its location but that it was near the showers. "A lot of incidents happened there," Eberhard said.
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Although Eberhard had always found the former Joliet Correctional Center fascinating from a photography perspective, she was never able to shoot any photos of it, even from the outside. "I was always driving past it and it was very interesting," Eberhard said. "I remember many years ago trying to take pictures outside. I was stopped by a guard who said I couldn't take pictures of the buildings."
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Eberhard said she's glad the museum is working to restore the prison and felt that job might be easier if vandals hadn't damaged items such as the stained glass in the chapel. Nevertheless, Eberhard said she focused her work not on the vandalism but on the prison as the prisoners might have known it. "I have pictures of the dining room and the laundry room, places that they prisoners saw," Eberhard said.
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KNOW MORE Goal: "It's a rewarding feeling for myself, now that I have the time to do it." Inspiration: "The work of early photographers. It's always important to look at other people's work because that gives you ideas." Words of wisdom: "Keep taking pictures. Keep seeing pictures. Keep 'seeing' pictures."
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ABOUT BARBARA EBERHARD Eberhard taught photography at the University of St. Francis for over 25 years. She is a member of Gallery Seven, Chicago Society of Artists, founder of “artitude” and founder and producer of INSPIRED! live lit. Her work "Eyes to the Soul" is currently on exhibit at The Beverly Arts Center, Chicago. For more information, visit Barbara Eberhard Artist on Facebook and inspiredlivelit.com.
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IF YOU GO WHAT: "Behind the Prison Walls" artist reception WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. May 4 WHERE: Gallery Seven, 200 W. 8th St. Lockport ETC: Exhibit on display during May. Gallery hours are Gallery Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. All exhibited work is for sale.