The Last Supper is an installation of mineral painted plates illustrating final meal requests of death row inmates in the United States. This on-going project began in Norman, Oklahoma in 1999. At that time, Julie Green was disturbed to find final menus printed in the morning paper at the time of each execution. The daily Norman Transcript included Associated Press releases such as:

His right foot, clad in a blue slipper, shook nervously.... After officials began administering the drugs at 12:09 a.m., Johnson blinked three times and let out a breath through puffed cheeks. His foot stopped shaking. His eyes slowly dimmed, became glassy and closed to a crescent.... He asked for a final meal of three fried chicken thighs, 10 or 15 shrimp, tater tots with ketchup, two slices of pecan pie, strawberry ice cream, honey and biscuits and a Coke.

To date, nearly 400 plates are completed. Each state with death penalty executions is included. Green has collected several hundred more menus and continues to paint plates. Toni Acock is the technical advisor and she fires each plate at 1400 degrees. There is a video component to the project, a collaboration with Colin Murphey. The Last Supper plates were first displayed at University of Liverpool Museum, UK in 2000; then University of California at Santa Cruz; Copia American Center of Food, Wine and the Arts in California; Oregon State University; and Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle. In 2003, Green was interviewed about the project on the NPR program The Splendid Table. Recent exhibitions include Hunter Museum of American Art in Tennessee; Living Arts in Oklahoma; Fort Collins MOCA in Colorado; Art and Design Gallery and Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas; Mulvane University Museum of Art in Kansas; Reed College in Oregon; DiverseWorks in Texas; and the 2008 San Francisco State University show Criminal along with artists such as William Pope. L and Deborah Luster.

Because of the content, The Last Supper is challenging to produce and may be challenging to view. While painting, Green considers the heinous crimes committed, the victims, the individuals executed, the large number of minorities on death row, and the margin for error in judicial process. She thinks about food, choice, and whether inmates are able to eat the food they order. Specific food requests, often-local specialties, provide clues on region, race, and economic level. Inmates in some states are limited to food available in the prison kitchen. There is a great deal of red meat but few lobsters, no sushi, and no Godiva chocolate. Julie Green makes art as a way of processing information. Opposed to the death penalty, she hopes this piece might generate discussion that could result in positive change.

Statistics from The Death Penalty Information Center, 29 May 2009 www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
Total U.S. State-Sanctioned Executions Since 1976 1165


Numbers of State Executions Since 1976
438 Texas
103 Virginia
90   Oklahoma
67   Missouri
67   Florida
43   North Carolina
45   Georgia
42   South Carolina
42   Alabama
27   Louisiana
27   Arkansas
28   Ohio
23   Arizona
19   Indiana
14   Delaware
13   California
12   Nevada
12   Illinois
10   Mississippi
6     Utah
5     Maryland
4     Washington
3     Montana
3     Nebraska
3     Pennsylvania
3     Kentucky
2     Oregon
5     Tennessee
1     Connecticut
1     Colorado
1     Idaho
1     Wyoming
1     South Dakota
0     New Hampshire
0     Kansas
3     U.S Federal Government

States without the death penalty
Alaska
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Washington, DC