danpaz

Supermax Food Tray, Tough, insulated, will not retain water, long-lasting to save replacement costs (lids sold separately), $214, Cortech

Bronze
14” L, 9” W, 1.5” D
2022

A 20 lb solid bronze tray, cast from a food tray made by Bob Barker Company, the largest vendor of corrections and detention supplies to federal, state, and local government agencies. I was able to purchase this tray for $214.00 as a single unit, purchased through Michigan State University's institutional account during my residency there. The design is specific to supermax facilities, intended for people held in solitary confinement or on death row, isolated from the general population. The object carries the financial and ideological investment that federal and state governments and private corporations continue to make in the prison industrial complex.

[The state's first prison, the Michigan State Penitentiary was established in Jackson in 1838, and it marked the beginning of organized "correctional" facilities in Michigan. In 1907, Jackson prison installed a facility to manufacture binder twine, which immediately began to generate profits. Michigan, along with several other midwestern states opted to produce and sell goods competitively on the open market. The state also leased and then purchased agricultural land next to the prison and in 1912 opened a commercial cannery at the facility, selling vegetables under the brand name “Home Grown.” Michigan, along with several other midwestern states opted to produce and sell goods competitively on the open market.]

(Dan Nemser, Alejo Stark, and Duncan Tarr, "From the Factory to the Warehouse", Field Notes, Brooklyn Rail 2020)

pictured:
1. hammer without a nail exhibition, Michigan State University’s Scene Gallery, 2022

2.Broken on a Wheel exhibition, Entre Gallery, Vienna Austria, 2022