Wrongfully imprisoned in a 6-by-10 foot Ohio prison cell, Dean Gillispie let his mind and his artwork transport him to an even smaller world.
He converted junk into miniature versions of places he wished he could be.
Gillispie used “procured” materials—such as teabags, soda cans, and foil paper from cigarette packs—to make models of nostalgic slices of Americana he pictured along his imaginary version of the legendary Route 66.
“Ain’t never been on Route 66, but I made one,” said Gillispie, who is now free to go there—or anywhere else he desires.
After languishing in prison for 20 years, Gillispie spent another decade working to clear his name on official court records. Late last year, an Ohio judge declared him “a wrongfully imprisoned individual,” and lamented “this nightmare that has been your life for the past 30 years.”…