Gurmeet Singh interviewed by Luvadollar Godallah
Luvadollar Godallah (00:02): Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Luvadollar Godallah. Today is 7/13/2023 here in Shawangunk Correctional Facility. I'm conducting an oral history interview with...
Gurmeet Singh (00:14): Singh.
Luvadollar Godallah (00:16): Um, I would like to ask you a few questions, if I may? It will be in the... I can hear myself. We're doing a few, uh, oral history interview questions. So first I'm going to ask you, you know, since we're in this class, you know, uh, why did you enroll in this art program?
Gurmeet Singh (00:39): Uh, my friend Mikey, he told me about this class, and I want to keep myself busy, and that's why I enrolled.
Luvadollar Godallah (00:48): Okay, all right. Uh, how would you describe yourself as an artist?
Gurmeet Singh (00:51): I don't know how to answer that question because I do little bit things here, there, but I never think like that, I am an artist, but I can do but I can't answer this thing.
Luvadollar Godallah (01:08): Okay. Okay. We've been in this class now for a couple weeks now. You know? Tell me about your time in this class.
Gurmeet Singh (01:16): I enjoy. And, uh, whatever we're doing, and I try to help other people also, so I make some copies and stuff like that. I'm enjoying.
Luvadollar Godallah (01:30): Oh, so, so, so, so this class is all right? How does, how does being in this class make you feel?
Gurmeet Singh (01:35): See, we are in jail, so it's different than our cell environment. So here everything is opposite. We can be using color, so we can express ourselves and talk to other people, other inmates. Especially in this jail, you don't see them each other like-
Luvadollar Godallah (01:56): Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (01:56): ... so often because everything is in your area, mess hall is inside, so you don't go to other places. So it's, I like it, and we talk, not the jail thing, and-
Luvadollar Godallah (02:10): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (02:11): ... personal things, so I'm enjoying it.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:14): Do you have any memories from this class thus far?
Gurmeet Singh (02:18): Yeah, my family came, I was telling them we're doing this, they feel good too, so. Yes, it's different.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:27): Okay. Um, we just completed a course where we did zines. Zines.
Gurmeet Singh (02:33): Yes.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:33): A little zine magazine. What did you learn from, you know, from that, from that, after we completed it?
Gurmeet Singh (02:41): Zine. I was thinking and I checked my dictionary, I didn't see that word, zine.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:47): Yeah. Me niether... (laughs)
Gurmeet Singh (02:49): But, then I was thinking in my on thoughts, like magazine.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:53): Yes.
Gurmeet Singh (02:53): So I say zine is that, zine, and maga means mag.
Luvadollar Godallah (02:55): More, yeah.
Gurmeet Singh (02:59): Mag, so like when we buy magazine we have a lot of information, so this zine is only one page, we make eight portions, still you can express yourself in your way, so I like that thing. How we use that one paper and-
Luvadollar Godallah (03:14): Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (03:15): ... make it in eight different pages-
Luvadollar Godallah (03:18): Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (03:19): ... and express ourself. I like it.
Luvadollar Godallah (03:22): All right. And what does this space offer you that differs from other spaces you've been a part of?
Gurmeet Singh (03:30): Other place like we do school or vocational. That's kind of job. If you work in industry, there's slavery here. You can express yourself, free mind, nobody's stopping you, you can draw yourself.
Luvadollar Godallah (03:46): Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (03:48): It's freedom kind of thing-
Luvadollar Godallah (03:49): Mm-hmm.
Gurmeet Singh (03:50): ... for one and a half hour.
Luvadollar Godallah (03:54): All right, um, and what is something you would like to carry forward with you from this class?
Gurmeet Singh (04:01): Same thing, expressing and colors, especially what we can't have in ourselves.
Luvadollar Godallah (04:07): (laughs) Is there anything you haven't shared in this class yet that you would like the opportunity to share with your talents and your skills?
Gurmeet Singh (04:20): Yes. But we don't have like all proper tools because we are in, again, in jail environment so we can't have scissor and stuff like that. So, some things like origami and stuff I want to teach or share with other people. Like our teacher, Miss Maggie, I believe.
Luvadollar Godallah (04:47): Yeah, Miss Maggie.
Gurmeet Singh (04:48): She like whatever I did so far.
Luvadollar Godallah (04:51): Yes. Yes. Yes.
Gurmeet Singh (04:52): And I bring today also something, so she want to see, what we are busy right now.
Luvadollar Godallah (04:57): So what other, what other, um, um, things do you say that we need? So maybe with, with this interview, they listen back and they can hear it and we can get those, those sort of things.
Gurmeet Singh (05:07): Maybe better scissors.
Luvadollar Godallah (05:08): Okay, yeah. (laughs)
Gurmeet Singh (05:13): Like, we're not supposed to have recording device.
Luvadollar Godallah (05:16): Yeah.
Gurmeet Singh (05:16): They bring it.
Luvadollar Godallah (05:17): Yeah, yeah.
Gurmeet Singh (05:18): So, if they have power, they can bring little better scissors too.
Luvadollar Godallah (05:24): Mm-hmm. And these, these is people that's coming from the outside here, that's conducting this class right here. And you know, they, they, they have surveys and studies with other people, that's individuals out there, that's getting to know how we are in here as far as artists and with what would you like someone on the outside to know about participating in this class?
Gurmeet Singh (05:46): Whoever involved in this program, we thank you a lot and appreciate your efforts and time you're doing for us. Sometime, I feel very bad like so many people I see here. I'm good with my family, but some people don't have family or anything and nobody care. So hope your family is not here, but still you helping us and you care about incarcerated people. That's a lot.
Luvadollar Godallah (06:19): Oh, man. Yo, it was a pleasure interviewing you today, man. Really learned a lot about you today. And, you know, we're going to see what the future brings as far as, you know, more to this art class and, and, and moving forward in it. And I want to thank you for participating in this oral history, you know, interview with me. Thank you very much, man.
Gurmeet Singh (06:39): Thank you here.
Luvadollar Godallah (06:40): All right.