Art Installations

audio : meet the artist

Susan Hagen: Recollection Tableaux

Sculptor Susan Hagen has created a series of historical dioramas for Eastern State Penitentiary's Cellblock Seven. The work, titled "Recollection Tableaux" consists of ten scenes from the penitentiary's history. The subjects include, "Man in a Mask," "Holiday Decorating," "The Prison Band," and "The Hole."

The figures stand about eleven inches tall, and are displayed on simple pedestals inside the cells. Each scene is nearly monochromatic and is lit with theatrical lighting, presenting a striking contrast with the debris and clutter of the abandoned prison cell.

"I carved the figures in wood, then bleached them, and constructed furniture and other items from painted metal, wood, fabric, and other materials," Ms Hagen said. "Through this work I hope to offer a glimpse of the emotional experiences and mundane routines of daily life within the walls of this prison - and to find a shared humanity with the people who resided here."

Susan Hagen is a sculptor who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received an MFA in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in sculpture from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Besides Recollection Tableaux, her installation at Eastern State Penitentiary, other recent sculptural projects include Animalia Exstincta, an installation of carved and bleached wood sculptures of endangered animals, and The Lost Army, a small monument to American soldiers in Iraq consisting of a series of carved and charred wood figures. Her work is represented by the Schmidt Dean Gallery in Philadelphia and the Center of the Earth Gallery in Charlotte, NC, and has been included in exhibitions at museums and galleries in the United States such as the World Tattoo Gallery in Chicago, del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder, CO, the Philadelphia International Airport, and Miami Basel. Ms. Hagen has received fellowships from the George Sugarman Foundation, the Leeway Foundation, and the Independence Fellowships in the Arts. She teaches at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, PA, and has written hundreds of reviews and articles for Woodwork magazine, Hand Papermaking, the Philadelphia City Paper, and many other publications.