Paños, Chicano Prison Art / Reno Leplat-Torti’s collection

Press kit
__________

january 2015

Reno Leplat-Torti
17 rue du palais des Guilhem
34000 Montpellier - France
+33 (0)6.74.77.63.47
reno@arqaeda.com
www.nationculblanc.com
 David Sandoval - 2009 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti

Press release

The art of paño, diminutive of pañuelo ( «handkerchief» in Spanish), marginal folk art, appeared during the 40’s in the prisons of Texas, California and New Mexico.
Some fans believe that their origins in the French prison system set up in Mexico after the revolution of 1910. The detainees, usually from Hispanic origin, most of
them illiterate, invent their own system of communication with the outside. On simple regulatory handkerchiefs assigned by the prison administration, they draw
in pen with the recovered ink, wax or coffee. Thereafter, in the states of south-western United States this practice becomes a kind of prison traditional art and spreads
to the rest of the country.

The inspirations of Chicano culture is very present : Catholic evocations or «vida loca» are associated with the symbols of the prison and love in all its forms. These
different iconography are also found in the Chicano tattoos and murals. The paños sent to summon the children enjoyed the small pictures directory of Mickeys,
plush, teddy bears.

Despite the precariousness of the means of achieving such transitional objects, they reassure and create the link beyond the bars, a way to contact the family, or
members of the gang... These paños appear like the torn pages of diaries cathartic confessing feelings, emotions, thoughts and dreams hidden, witnesses of their lives
in captivity through an aesthetic strength. A wealth of visual expression emerges from these tissues, a way to transcend the confinement and isolation, the endless
passage of time and boredom, the loneliness of life in prison, where identity is subdued. Drawings of miniature paintings, stronger than words to recover humanity
and dignity.

Isabelle Durand
Koka - 1992 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
 Paño making
The easiest paño to make is a colored piece. The artist selects an image from
his copias and traces it onto a sheet of paper. After deciding which colors
to use, he fills in the study’s outlines by shading it with ballpoint pens,
colored pencils or felt tip markers. The technique is similar to tattooing.
Paño Drawings by Chicano Prisoners Next he adjusts the scale with the aid of a hand-drawn grid. Once the
Martha V. Henry drawing has been transferred onto the handkerchief, he repeats the process
of filling in the outlines with color and shading.
Preface
“The sea and its sands weep what I suffer; the pen weeps as it writes black To create a complex black and white paño an artist must exercise a much
tears of sorrow.” (Las décimas de don Mateo) higher level of skill and visual organization. Again using a technique similar
to tattooing, an artist composes a montage by transferring multiple copias
A letter arrives in a Chicano woman’s mailbox. Sent by her husband who onto the handkerchief. He juxtaposes images in varying sizes, all relating
is serving time in a San Antonio jail, the envelope is decorated with a fine aesthetically and symbolically to a central image. The artist usually leaves
pen and ink drawing of the proud but sorrowful face of a Chicano man the background ink-free to reveal the white color of the handkerchief.
wearing a moco rag tied around his forehead and clown makeup under his However, he sometimes uses sobra, a technique of stippling, shading or
eyes. The bandana identifies the man as a gang member, and the clown’s inking for dramatic effect that many inmate-artists admire but few master.
makeup is a sign that he is masking his feelings. Framing his face are prison
and religious symbols - a watchtower, a chain link fence, barbed wire, and Other canvases
a wooden cross. Together these images hint at the envelope’s contents and Although most Chicano prison drawings are made on handkerchiefs,
the emotions that the inmate wishes to share with his spouse. inmate-artists draw on almost anything that they can find, including nylon
commissary bags used for storage and laundry and envelopes purchased in
The woman opens the envelope and finds a neatly folded cotton the prison store. Despite the different formats, the style of drawing is the
handkerchief instead of a letter written on paper. Unfolding it, she same as the handkerchiefs. However, the purpose of decorating a bag is to
discovers a ballpoint pen drawing expressing her husband’s sadness about identify its owner and to prevent thieves from stealing it. Hand- decorated
his imprisonment and separation from his family and friends. Not only envelopes in color or black and white are used to mail letters and paños.
does this pocket-sized canvas represent his personal thoughts from prison, The demand for them can provide a profitable business for a convict who is
it also elicits specific emotions from his wife about memories of the love skilled in drawing. Popular designs include landscapes with sunsets, kissing
they shared before he was incarcerated. swans, hearts and flowers, and prison subjects. An inmate-artist can make
about six envelopes a week. In the prison barter system, two envelopes are
When words fail or are beyond reach, the visual language of paño art can worth a pack of cigarettes.
convey stories and emotions that are understood by those who create and
receive them. Chicano inmate-artists emphasize image and symbolism Themes
over literary communication. The expressive power of their imagery breaks San Antonio’s paño artists draw on a rich visual vocabulary of Mexican and
through the prison walls and links the inside with the outside. American culture – high and low. Their work blends barrio art, like tattoo
flashes, lowrider detailing, murals and graffiti; representations of Christian
Origins religious figures and Mexican heroes; and symbolic references to the prison
Although the origin of paño drawings is unknown, the art form probably experience of tirando tiempo - doing time. Paño makers generally use black
emerged from jails and prisons in Texas, New Mexico and California ink for drawings that portray la vida loca - the crazy life of drugs and
during the pachuco –zootsuiter - movement of the 1940’s when Chicano alcohol, gambling, prostitution and other crimes - and viajes - dreams,
identity first crystallized.  Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s convicts risked fantasies, nightmares, and drug trips. Colored pencils are usually reserved
punishment to tear up their pillowcases and sheets and make drawings on for religious, family and romantic subjects. Paño artists frequently use
them with fountain pens that portrayed their experiences and expressed these images in iconic ways that are reminiscent of the narrative religious
their feelings of doing jail time. Fountain pens were difficult to use because art of Mexico’s Catholic painting and sculpture and the Pre-Hispanic
their points ripped the fabric, and consequently few of these early works pictorial writing traditions of Aztec and Mixtec manuscripts. Similarly,
have survived.  By the 1970’s prison commissaries stocked ballpoint pens when reading some paños, the story unfolds from right to left. Paños also
and large white handkerchiefs with woven borders. Unfortunately the relate to the popular religious paintings on tin called ex votos that record
ballpoint pens penetrated the loose weave of these handkerchiefs and made miraculous events in the patron’s life. Although paños sometimes include
the cotton canvases difficult to handle. In the late 1980’s prison authorities English or Spanish phrases, visual images usually convey their meaning.
allowed commissaries to sell smaller, more tightly woven handkerchiefs
that were far easier to draw on. In the hands of the paño makers, these Many paños have evocative elements woven into their compositions.
handkerchiefs became miniature canvases. Symbols of time and its passing are frequently represented. Clocks,
hourglasses, calendar pages, tombstones, and numbered book pages all
Sources convey the relentless passing of time and the boredom of prison existence.
Paño makers in jail live in a world of limited visual inspiration.  Some are Chicanos’ pride in, and identification with earlier times is evoked by figures
inspired by the tattooed designs on their own bodies and those of other of a romanticized Mexican past, including Aztec warriors, Pancho Villa and
inmates. Most appropriate images from printed sources: lowrider, tattoo, Emiliano Zapata, and images of 1940’s Texan pachucos and their antique
soap opera and sex magazines; newspapers; calendars, posters and popular lowriders. Images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Jesus Christ copied
illustrations of religious figures, Mexican heroes and martyrs; comic and from religious books and postcards and associated themes of suffering,
coloring books; and movie and burlesque posters. Each artist selects and redemption, and prayer are important in paño art. Love in all its aspects
preserves favorite illustrations in a file of personal images called copias - familial, romantic, and sexual - are expressed symbolically with cartoons,
that he will modify over time as his tastes change. hearts, ribbons, flowers and birds, or with explicit images derived from sex
magazines and pornography. Illustrations of la vida loca are juxtaposed with
Copias are sometimes owned by specific prisoners. They are valued as prison symbols that include brick walls, bars, chain link fences, barbed wire,
commercial property because their owners can barter the right to use their and watchtowers, as well as vignettes of cellblock life.
copias with other inmate-artists or lend them with no strings attached.
When a paño maker is released from prison, he either gives his copias to By using a rich inventory of images and combining them in graphically
another inmate-artist for safekeeping, or he lets them be used by anyone powerful ways, paño artists create windows onto their experiences, thoughts
who wants them. and feelings. The ability to tell both simple and complex stories that have
meaning to both those in prison and those on the outside sets paños apart
from other forms of prison art.
Mexican heritage and chicano identity Christian concept of a crucified Savior with bleeding wounds, a sacrificial
In the aftermath of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Pre-Hispanic religion death of terrible suffering, and a triumphant resurrection. Most Mexican
blended with Spanish Catholicism and enhanced Mexico’s narrative and rural people and their Mexican-American relatives still hold to traditional
visual traditions. On the political front, multiple incursions and foreign Catholic beliefs.
rule altered the borders between Mexico and the United States. People
living on both sides of the border developed particular cultural traditions Paños depicting Jesus Christ and other religious figures are most commonly
centered on ranching with its own set of heroes and symbols. made for mothers, grandmothers and aunts and include messages asking
for spiritual guidance and protection for the artists’ families. Images of
Drawing upon their knowledge of history when making paños with Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints have a central position on the
Mexican or border themes, inmate-artists are able to share their beliefs home altar. Family members pray to these religious figures to help them
and traditions with other inmates. Thus, prison becomes a school for the during crisis and to solve everyday problems.
transmission of Chicano culture. Copias include scenes of Aztec nobles
and maidens in architectural settings taken from Pre-Hispanic history Paño artists portray Jesus Christ in many forms. Favorite compositions
and legends. An eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its beak is include Jesus praying in Gethsemane, Christ wearing the crown of thorns,
the ancient symbol of the Aztec capitol of Tenochtitlan, the final resting and the Crucifixion. Whichever composition they choose, Christ always
place at the end of the Aztecs’ migration out of Aztlán, their legendary symbolizes faith, hope, suffering and salvation.
homeland. Today it is Mexico’s national symbol. The eagle and the snake,
as well as the sun, symbolize Mexico in paño iconography, but along with The virgin of guadalupe
the letters MM and the number 13, they may also represent the Mexican In 1531 Juan Diego, a Mexican Indian peasant, had a vision of the Virgin
Mafia. Because of its gang connotations, Texas has outlawed some of this Mary at Tepeyac, a hill outside Mexico City and the original site of the
imagery. The Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico, symbolizes shrine of Tonantzin, the Aztec Mother Goddess. Unlike the Spanish
protection and Mexican identity, and she often appears in paños as a conquers’ icons, Juan Diego’s Virgin was dark-skinned and dressed in
reassuring presence. traditional Indian costume. She told him that she wanted a temple built
in her honor.
When depicting the heroes of the Mexican Revolution, the paño maker’s
source may be old corridos – narrative ballads celebrating the outlaw heroes To prove to the bishop that Juan Diego’s vision was real, the
of the border wars. Liberation figures, like Pancho Villa brandishing a Virgin told him to gather roses blooming in winter from the rocks and
sword or Emiliano Zapata wearing a bandolera – pistol belt - across his wrap them in his cape. When he opened his cape to show the bishop the
chest, are usually surrounded by images of the Alamo and beautiful charras roses he had gathered, an image of the dark Virgin was revealed and the
– ranch women - who wear traditional sombreros with wide brims. While bishop was convinced of the truth of the vision. The Virgin’s demand that
Mexican national symbols generally refer to an idealized past, border motifs a temple in her honor be built in Tepeyac was fulfilled by the construction
are more often associated with reclaiming land, liberty, and dignity for the of the shrine of Guadalupe, a pilgrimage church that thousands of devotees
Mexican people. Chicanos’ identification with their roots and culture is a visit every year. Few realize that the shrine is built in the same place that
profound source of pride and an affirmation of their heritage. the ancient Mexican Mother Goddess who ruled earth, fertility and sky
was worshipped for centuries. Two hundred years after Juan Diego’s vision,
Chicanos are prisoners of their dual Mexican and American nationalities, the Virgin of Guadalupe was declared the patron saint of Mexico.
yet they are alienated from both. Culturally, they are suspended between
a motherland that they vaguely remember and a homeland that relegates This Virgin played a critical role in converting Mexico’s native people to
them to society’s margins. At the core of Chicano identity is La Raza, their Christianity. Miguel Cabrera, one of Mexico’s most renowned 18th century
shared ancestral experience of Mexico. In paño art, the search for identity Baroque artists, painted her official portrait under church supervision and
and La Raza is expressed most often in viajes, drawings that frequently recorded the official details of Juan Diego’s vision on his canvas. Cabrera’s
portray Aztec warriors, Mexican Revolutionary heroes and charras. Artists Virgin has been repeated in many formats since his original work, and
usually frame them with peacocks, symbolizing pride and beauty, and frequently appears in slightly modified forms in paño art. Cabrera painted
roses, symbolizing passion and hope, designs that have similar meanings the Virgin larger than the sun radiating behind her and standing upon a
in both tattoo and paño art and are clearly statements of Chicano pride. crescent moon. The primary placement of the Virgin and the secondary
positions of the celestial bodies show that her power is greater than the
Lowriders, pickups and chicano pride discredited Aztec gods. The designs on her robes include stars and roses
The lowrider is the most unique, flamboyant and enduring expression that indicate her heavenly and earthly natures. Her hands held in prayer
of Chicano pride and identity. These customized cars originated as suggest her close relationship to the Almighty and emphasizes her role as
an expression of pachuco style in the 1940’s when Chicanos struggled an intermediary between human beings and God.
against discrimination and poverty. In an era when ethnic minorities were
expected to conform to Anglo dress code, pachucos, much like today’s hip- Today La Guadalupana is a living presence and an object of great devotion
hop aficionados, defied the status quo by wearing zootsuits with baggy for Mexicans everywhere. As the Mother of God, she is sacred and
high-waisted trousers, oversized coats, wide-brimmed hats, long gold associated with motherhood. She protects and comforts all living things.
watch chains and droopy moustaches. Pachucos customized cast-off cars, Her representation is found everywhere, even in local stores beside cash
called bombas, by chopping, lowering and dropping the frames so they registers and on the dashboards of cars. More than any other Christian
hovered inches from the ground. icon, she is the one who is asked to intercede on behalf of the family.
The automobile became a canvas for the expressions of its owner’s dreams People pray to her for strength and protection from evil. It is not unusual
and fantasies. Cruising the boulevards “low and slow” while listening to for Chicano men to wear tattoos of the Virgin of Guadalupe like body
their favorite tunes on the radio, pachucos in their lowriders embodied armor to protect them from harm.
Chicano pride and ethnic defiance. Today lowrider culture is a worldwide
phenomenon, but it is still “a uniquely expressive medium for Chicanos’ Family
continuing efforts to carve out a new kind of American identity while The family is the inspiration and source of much of San Antonio’s Chicano
resisting assimilation.” folk art production. The rich variety of furniture, sculptures, textiles,
religious and paper arts found in their homes creates an atmosphere of
Jesus Christ emotional closeness and gives visual cues to the social benefits of belonging
Spanish Catholicism found fertile ground in New World Indians’ love to the family.
of ceremony and pageantry; the veneration of different aspects of gods;
and the emphasis on pain and suffering as integral parts of religious Paños are displayed on the altar casero - home alter -, a place in a room
life. Indigenous peoples, whose Pre-Hispanic religion included human especially dedicated to worship and created and maintained by an older
sacrifice and ritual bloodletting, readily embraced the Spanish conquerors’ woman in the household. Along with prison art and religious icons, she
Joe Calderon - 2013 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
may place candles, lights and Christmas decorations; family photos and Valentines
pictures of popular heroes; diplomas, military medals, travel souvenirs, and Paño valentines expressing romantic love are sent as gifts to celebrate a wife
other personal mementos. The altar casero is an expression of the woman’s or lover’s anniversary, birthday and other special occasions. Hearts, kissing
personal aesthetic and her attempt to influence supernatural forces. swans, butterflies, flowers, and written dedications convey his love and
devotion.
Displayed at home alongside paños, are gifts of embroidered cloth given
by a mother to her daughter or embroidered handkerchiefs with designs The symbolism and the sources of these copias are found in older tattoo
of hearts, flowers and ribbons with special messages from wife to husband. flashes. Not only is the imagery and meaning similar, in fact, the technique
Paño makers sometime use designs that recall the embroideries they of making these kinds of paños is very similar to tattooing. A tattoo artist
remember from home in the drawings that they send to their mothers, wives creates a stencil from a flash, transfers it onto the skin and then fills in the
and children. line drawing with ink shading. Freehand drawing is rarely done. In the same
manner, a paño artist traces a line drawing from a copia, transfers it onto a
The family may frame his paños, discuss his artistic talent and proudly show handkerchief, and then fills it in with shading.
his drawings to guests. Their affection for him can be measured by the care
with which his paños are displayed at home. A mother can intuit her son’s Tattooing is the most admired and widespread art form in prison. It has
physical, mental and emotional health from the paños he sends her. flourished behind prison bars despite centuries of bans; its imagery has been
passed down to generations of inmates. Tattooing survives, perhaps, because
Giving paños to family members is a way for a convict to avoid being it is an art of rebellion and an expression of individuality that becomes
forgotten by them while he is doing time, especially if his sentence is long, essential when imprisonment means the loss of identity.
and to reciprocate for gifts that they have sent him during his confinement.
Paños provide a way for him to celebrate holidays and special occasions La vida loca
with his loved ones. If he has children, he may send them colorful drawings La vida loca, the crazy life of the street with its lure of sex, gambling, drugs,
of funny cartoons and popular characters to make them laugh. He may alcohol, and crime, is a seductive lifestyle of thrills, pleasure and instant
painstakingly copy a message from a greeting card onto a paño with colored gratification. Unfortunately, many who live it end up imprisoned, beginning
pencils to express love for his mother or wife. In many ways, gifts of paños a cycle of addiction and incarceration that is a direct consequence.
can sustain the bonds of love and loyalty between inmates and their relatives
on the outside. La vida loca is the life of an outsider who is not living a normal existence. He
lives on the edge of society following other rules. The origins of the outsider
Cartoon love in tejano culture can be found in the old corridos that celebrated the outlaw
When a convict wants to send an affectionate message to his girlfriend or heroes of the border wars, who were usually tequila smugglers, train robbers
wife, perhaps to court her or to make up for a lover’s quarrel, instead of and illegal aliens looking for work. The famous lyric, “defending one’s right
sending her flowers, he may draw a cute cartoon to make her smile and with his pistol in his hand” was an outcry against the injustice these men
forgive him. It may be a sexy rendition of Minnie Mouse or Betty Boop or fought against. But for some young men, that cry for dignity and self-respect
perhaps a cartoon couple dressed up in barrio style. If the couple breaks up, became fused with the notoriety of drug dealers and other criminals.
she will dispose of his paño.
Paño artists who record la vida loca always include in their work the
Whether or not the inmate is actually an artist, cartoon paños are so easy to consequences of the lifestyle with images of what has been lost by those who
make that they are a way for an amateur artist to develop his skills. He learns lead it. In Paul Nuñez’s paño, La Vida Loca , a contemporary gang member
by tracing copias, is portrayed as a border outlaw with a smoking revolver in his hand. The
and after making a few paños, he may begin to receive commissions. His meaning is reinforced by the Mexican flag behind the outlaw and by the
skills as a tradesman will develop through the challenge of executing his beautiful woman protected by an eagle beside him. A U.S. flag symbolizes
commissioned work. Eventually he will graduate from cartoons to black and oppression and prison bars symbolize the loss of freedom resulting from la
white paños and be recognized as an artist. vida loca. In effect, these compositions are cautionary tales, warning vatitos –
Chicano youths - about the dangers of street life.
The one I love
Once sentenced to prison, an inmate’s physical intimacy with the woman Party girls
he loves is limited by the jail’s rules governing visiting hours. The couple is Paños of la vida loca often depict women as whores juxtaposed with copias
allowed to kiss when the visitor arrives and again when they part. They may of a magician or a serpent, both symbols of temptation. Identified by their
hold hands for forty-five minutes above a Plexiglas barrier while guards watch large breasts and protruding buttocks, barely covered in see-through lingerie
them. At best the experience is awkward, without privacy and certainly no and stockings, they pose as dominatrixes and submissives, or engage in
substitute for intimacy. sexual acts. Portraying one’s girlfriend in this manner is forbidden, but the
anonymous women of pornography are acceptable models. Inmates lift
Given these limitations on their social interactions, it is not surprising that copias, called hot dog or skin flicks, from sex magazines and embellish them.
paño makers create black and white drawings of romantic and erotic fantasies These drawings can be very explicit and the theme is always sexual fantasy.
for themselves and fellow prisoners. Inspiration comes from adult magazines They provide convicts with female erotic images, a welcome diversion from
like Gallery, with its risqué home photos of “girls next door”, and from the all male environment of prison.
images of couples passionately kissing on the covers of Mexican romance
comic books. Artists often frame the women and embracing couples with Camaradas
emblems of love and romance such as love birds or cockatoos, symbolizing San Antonio is one of the poorest cities in the United States. Poverty,
courtship, building a family, and companionship; roses, representing love discrimination and social pathology are rampant leading some young vatos
and passion; charras suggesting Mexican and border culture; or macho – guys - to express their frustration and rage in criminal activities and street
images of a man beside a beautiful girl driving into the sunset. violence. Gang membership captures their imagination and desire to belong
Such imagery expresses an inmate’s loneliness at being separated from his to a group in ways that school and society do not. The gang functions like a
life and relationships outside the prison walls and longing for women’s second family providing identity, structure, emotional support, and respect.
emotional companionship. The hope that love’s flame still burns in a lover’s Peer pressure sometimes leaves vatos with little choice but to pursue gang
heart and the simple yearning to embrace the sweet memories of good times membership. Camarada – gang - philosophy can be summed up as ‘they do
past are often recorded in paño art. Furthermore, paños depicting broken for me, I do for them’. Whether on the street or in paños, camaradas can
hearts or crying women can capture a prisoner’s pain and help him cope be identified by their gestures, style of dress, particularly their headgear –
with rejection and loss. gangster hats, bandanas, knit caps and baseball caps with the brims turned
up – and by their tattoos of gang affiliations, nicknames, barrios, religious
icons, and cartoons.
Although social gangs are brought together by a common interest like are identified by number. They are forced to conform to a standardized
lowriders, the gangs of la vida loca are violent. Organized like a corporation dress code, perform menial work and accept rigid schedules. They eat the
whose main business is drug dealing, the violent gangs also engage in same food, endure lockup in a small space, experience lengthy periods
prostitution and extortion. They use violence and weapons to expand their of inactivity, and receive brief periods of exercise and release. Convicts
power into new territory, protect their home turf and preserve their status. also endure enforced celibacy during their sentences. Prisoners are under
Many members are incarcerated for their actions and in jail the gang cycle constant supervision and surveillance, even when they are in solitary
begins anew where membership in a prison gang of carnales – brothers - confinement. Human contact is limited to the wardens, correction officers,
becomes crucial for protection and survival. other convicts and occasional visitors. It is difficult to sustain friendships
because prisoners are constantly moved around within the system without
Drug life notice. The lack of privacy, constant noise, ugliness, monotony, threat
The destructive and chaotic underside of la vida loca is drug abuse. of rape and violence causes overwhelming feelings of rage, fear, futility,
Although using drugs is considered a weakness in Chicano culture, vatos boredom and depression. To escape such nightmarish conditions, inmates
are especially vulnerable to drugs because of social stress, gang pressures turn to games, fantasy, drugs, and suicide.
and the traditional prohibitions about expressions of pain. Some use
heroin or other intoxicants to dull painful feelings and quiet their anxiety To survive in prison a convict must be physically, emotionally and spiritually
and then become addicted and commit violent crimes to support their strong. Hardness, anger and violence are encouraged; friendliness,
drug habits. During incarceration they continue abusing drugs to escape gentleness and sadness must be hidden for fear that others will find an
the even harsher realities of prison life. inmate weak. Projecting a tough, hard face is a requirement for survival in
prison; masking emotions and hiding feelings are also necessities.
Vatos are not proud of these activities, so scenes of drug use in la vida loca
and viaje Variations on the mask theme appear frequently in paño art. Mocking
paños are usually hidden from the outside world. They are made for an jesters or a pair of silly clowns may imply foolish behavior, while a pair of
inner circle of carnales, and out of respect, are not shown to women. sinister clowns may suggest false pretenses or worse. Comedic and tragic
Many symbols of drug use can be found in paño drawings: dragons, 8 masks are sometimes paired with the phrase, “Smile Now, Cry Later”, a
balls, marijuana leaves, pills, mushrooms, spoons, syringes (drugs and fatalistic concept that good times will inevitably be followed by a period
paraphernalia); snakes (temptation); melting clocks and faces (effect of of troubles. However the masks are portrayed, the message is clear – the
drugs); spider webs (addiction); and skulls (death). The artist often balances world is a chaotic place where appearances are deceiving and where feelings
a central scene of drug use with images showing the pain associated with and true emotions are best masked from view.
addiction and the devastating impact drugs have on families and lives.
Artists in residence
Crime scenes Art is one of the best defenses an inmate has to cope with prison’s
Paños often feature narratives of real or imagined crimes - street and bar dehumanization.
fights, drug dealing, armed robbery, hostage taking, stabbings, shootings
and murder. Sometimes the inmate-artists add small realistic details about The grim reality is that a prisoner is stripped of everything that matters
the chase and arrest, like roadblocks, police beatings and handcuffing, in his life except time. How he handles that reality is the key to how he
sentencing, and jailhouse scenes of beat downs and other brutal acts survives incarceration. Prison routine is less depressing if he can find an
committed by correction officers. However, without detailed investigation, activity that will make time pass more quickly and interestingly. Art’s
it is impossible to know whether the acts portrayed actually occurred. liberating fantasies not only allow an inmate-artist to mentally escape
Convicts tend to fantasize and exaggerate stories about torture, murder, from his cell and wander the world of his imagination, it provides spiritual
suicide and other exploits, and paño artists record and embellish these nourishment for his soul. It is an outlet for the expression of the pent-up
stories for dramatic effect. emotions he has hidden from others in order to survive in such a hostile
environment.
Sometimes in rehabilitation sessions, inmates are encouraged to create
imaginary violent scenes of drug abuse and murder but they do them Chicano prisoners live by rules of conduct (pride, respect, patience, and
unwillingly, often to curry favor with the rehabilitation staff or prison heart) to insure that their interactions with other inmates are peaceful
authorities. In the past, some Texas correction institutions allowed these and to help them survive their prison sentences with some semblance
paños to be marketed through the system’s art programs where there is of dignity. When they apply the same qualities to paño making, prison
a large appetite for violent images from a voyeuristic audience outside becomes a school for developing new skills and learning about their
the prison walls. These commercial productions may reflect pride in culture. In prison, they pass on art traditions and techniques through a
craftsmanship but the affection for small details that traditional paños system of apprenticeship to other inmate-artists. This training accounts
exhibit is missing. Marketplace imagery is chosen to catch the eye with for the repetition of images, symbols, motifs and styles in paño art. An
appealing designs instead of personal emotional expression. Thus, the inmate-artist earns respeto – respect – from his fellow inmates through
market subtly shapes the themes recorded on paños reflected by the artists’ paño making. He needs paciencia - patience – and discipline to draw with
different choices of images and compositions from the paños that they concentration and not make a mistake that could ruin his work. He feels
send home to their families. orgullo – pride - from his artistic accomplishment and from his knowledge
of his Chicano background. He feels corazon – heart – when he pours his
Cellbound emotions and passions into his paño’s images. By practicing these qualities
The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. in art production, the inmate-artist’s character is strengthened in ways that
Since the collapse of the oil business in the late 1980’s, the number of are crucial to his spiritual and practical survival.
prisons in Texas has increased more than sevenfold from 20 to 150.
Although private prisons have become profitable businesses in many states, The code of respect applies when judging or criticizing paño art. An inmate
the governor is ultimately in control of the prison system and sets the respects any paño drawing and never comments or even touches an artwork
tone for the wardens. Wardens run each facility like private fiefdoms and unless the artist asks him to. Unlike the practice of the outside art world, it
enforce their own sets of rules. However, it is the governor who encourages is not polite to criticize or judge a work of art. If there are elements of gang
or forbids art programs and the flow of art supplies in jail and creates a imagery in the paño, they must remain secret and can never be discussed.
supportive or hostile environment for the making of paños. Craftsmanship, especially shading techniques, is admired, but ultimately a
paño is appreciated for how successfully the artist communicated corazon.
The war on crime and the privatization of prison facilities have meant Paño artists earn respect in prison by sharing their knowledge. If they are
that prisoners are serving longer sentences under harsher conditions than talented, they enjoy an elevated status. They are able to trade their art
in previous decades. Dehumanization is the trend in prison governance, for goods and services insuring their practical survival. They are given
and the system suppresses an individual’s identity in many ways. Inmates cigarettes, food and drugs, telephone privileges and friendship. They also
David Campos - 2011 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
enjoy some protection against rape and beatings. There is pressure on “The reason I do art is to be remebered by my familia should anything happen
artists to perform. They take pride in doing better work, and the chance to to me while doing time. It is the only thing that I have to give of myself.”
barter for goods and privileges may increase its quality and output. There
is a sense of barrio cohesiveness, that “if you slack off, you will bring the Manuel Montoya, août 1986

others down with you.”

It is not always possible to identify the true creator of a paño because

of how it originated. Some artwork was commissioned and the patron’s
signature was added instead of the inmate-artist’s. A commissioned paño
“Art is power. Like faith, it can change your life in a positive manner. When I
is really about the patron’s feelings rather than the artist’s. It is like a
take up my pen and put down my thoughts, feelings, hope and dreams, I have
greeting card where the sender signs his name rather than the card’s creator.
freedom.”
Sometimes paños are forged or stolen and the new owner attaches his name
and quickly sends it out of prison. One deterrent to theft is to integrate a Melvin Sedillo, février 1992
signature into a section of the picture that is too complex for the plagiarist
to reproduce. In earlier examples of paño art, many artists did not sign
their work at all because they were drawn for specific people who knew
who they came from. Besides, individuality lay in the paño’s story and not
in the artist’s name so a signature was unnecessary. Since the mid 1990’s,
artists have tended to sign and date their work as it enters the commercial “The paño becomes the canvas of his soul expressing yesterday’s sorrow and
art world. More paños are being made today for a commercial audience. tomorrow’s hope.”

Rudy Padilla
The marketplace’s demand for hardcore subject matter has been increasing
since the mid 1990’s. Younger artists favor viaje compositions and the
demonic imagery of drug-induced trips. As the artists compete with each
other, they introduce more horrifying images and their compositions
become more sophisticated and complex. These paños are intended for a
voyeuristic audience, and their images are actually safe because they are not
very personal. Like masks, they do not reveal the artist’s intimate feelings.
Recent paños have been criticized for lacking corazon, sentiments that are
traditionally found in paños made by older generations.

Duality
The experience of duality is intrinsic to Chicano culture. Its origins are
found in the Aztec principle of opposites – win/lose, man/woman, sin/
redemption, life/death – and it is a major theme from the Pre-Hispanic
past. It is evident in Chicano attempts to reconcile their Mexican and
American nationalities, in the nostalgia they feel for La Raza and their
expression of a new American attitude and style.

For Chicanos in prison who yearn for life outside, reality collides with
fantasy and their experience of duality is intensified. To survive the prison
experience, inmates project an emotionless public face to mask a private
self that overflows with feelings. Such duality is expressed often in paño art
by the written phrase, “Smile Now, Cry Later” and is suggested by pictures
of masks and clowns.

The world of emotions that lies between these opposing states of being is
the great theme of paño art. It is a world where every human emotion is
exposed from faith, love, hope and dreams to regrets, longing, sadness, fear
and rage. Paños are “tales of humanity flowing forth from a tragic source,
yet behind the images are emotions that are familiar to all human beings.”
Whether they are love letters, narratives of personal loss or prayers for
redemption, every paño tells a story.
Cannon Ball - 1934 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Justin Sturtevant - 2012 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym - 1934 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym - © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Rudy Treviño III - 2010 © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
MOHS gallery in Copenhague (DK) / January 2013
Le cri de l’encre in Lyon / Octobre 2012 MOHS gallery in Copenhagen (DK) / January 2013

Regional Contemporary Art Museum in Sérignan / April 2013 Le Dernier Cri in Marseille in partnership with the Pop Gallery and their gha-
naian movie posters / May 2013

The exhibition Paños, Reno Leplat-Torti’s collection has been presented at La milonga del’angel in Nîmes (FR)
in october 2011, at Going Blind gallery in Grenoble (FR) en février 2012, at Monte en l’air in Paris in march
2012, at Cri de l’encre gallery in Lyon (FR) in october 2012, at MOHS Gallery in Copenhagen (DK) in january
2013, at Lycaon in Brussells (BE) in february 2013, at MRAC in Sérignan (FR) in april 2013, at le Dernier Cri
in Marseille (FR) in may 2013, at ChantierBoiteNoire gallery in Montpellier (FR) and in From point to point
gallery in Nimes (FR) in september 2013, at le Salon in Paris in april 2014, at Quai Branly in Paris in may 2014,
at galerie Central in Liège (BE) in november 2014 and will be presented at Bureau of Artistic Rehab in Manila
(PH) in september 2015.
Gallery From point to point / Philippe Panetier, in Nîmes/ September 2013
Gallery Chantiers BoiteNoire in Montpellier / September 2013
Quai Branly, Paris / Tatoueurs tatoués / may 2014

Le Salon Paris / april 2014

Galerie Central in Liège, Belgium. November 2014. © Dominique Bernard

Galerie Central in Liège, Belgium. November 2014. © Dominique Bernard

Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
www.telerama.fr / juin 2013
www.20minutes.fr / janvier 2012
http://www.petit-bulletin.fr/ / janvier 2012
PANOS

Du 16 mars au 31 mars 2012.

Cette semaine au monte en l’air, le dernier cri et la pop galerie propose une exposition d’art vernaculaire assez
fascinante. L’art des paños.

Il s’agit de mouchoir dessinés par les prisonniers américains, souvent d’origine chicanos. Ces mouchoirs leur
permettent de communiquer avec leurs familles, leurs amis. Ce sont avant tout des présents. Certains sont
destinés aux enfants, d’autres aux femmes des prisonniers d’autres à leur grand mère ou à leurs amis.

La plupart de ses mouchoirs déclinent des codes propres à la culture des ses détenus qu’on peut aussi retrouver
sur les tatouage ou sur peintures murales à l’extérieur, ou encore sur les enveloppes des lettres qu’il envoient.
Ces codes son très hétérogènes et sont tous mélangés ce qui donne au final des dessins étonnants. Délires
gangsta bling bling mixés avec des figures kitschs telles que des clowns ou des masques de théâtre, qui sont des
éléments symboliques très important de cette culture, mais aussi des personnages pour enfants ainsi que des
symboles religieux catholiques ou des références aux civilisations pré-hispanique sans oublier l’esthétique des
tatouages. Ce que j’aime dans ces images c’est leurs cotés excessifs, passionnés, romantiques, mélodramatiques
qui renvoie comme on l’imagine au vies tragiques de ses prisonniers. Rêve et désespoir se mélangent dans un
délire esthétique totalement kitsch et décomplexé. Il y a là dans cet art un certaine candeur qui est troublante
et touchante.

Vernissage Vendredi 16 à 18H

Le Monte-En-l’Air
71 rue de Ménilmontant - Paris 20
M° Ménilmontant

Yassine

www.lezinfo.com / mars 2012

Paños - Chicano Prison Art
-Reno Leplat-Torti´Collection.

January 4 - February 2, 2013

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 4th, 4-9pm

Whether intensely spiritual or brazenly secular, paño art draws on the deepest emotions of prisoners whose
artistic expression is limited only by the materials at hand. The word paño (Spanish for cloth or handkerchief)
has come to mean the art form itself -- a ball point pen or colored pencil drawing on a handkerchief.

Scholars have yet to determine the origin of paño art, but some believe that it emerged in the 1940s among
Chicano prisoners in the southwestern United States who drew on the handkerchiefs or torn bed sheets. Today
paño art is associated with Chicano inmates around the country, both male and female, who neatly fold paños
into envelopes and mail them to loved ones.

Paño artists take much of their imagery and inspiration from the larger visual arts vocabulary of Chicano art
conspicuous in murals, posters, low rider cars, graffiti, and tattoos. The art form evolves as prisoners talk paño
techniques, share their information on materials and style, and trade patterns drawn or traced from magazines,
newspapers and catalogs.

The Crazy Life / La Vida Loca: Many paños depict «La Vida Loca,» or « The Crazy Life,» showing scenes of gang
life, drug use and violence, as well as the harsh realities of life on the streets, poverty and prison. Symbolized
by the masks of comedy and tragedy, the theme «Laugh Now, Cry Later» depicts the consequences of «La
Vida Loca.» Imagery reflecting prison life such as clocks, prison bars, hourglasses and watchtowers appears
throughout these paños. Prisoners sometimes turn to religion as an alternative to «La Vida Loca,» and some
Paños contrast the two lifestyles side by side.

Faith / La Fe: Paños often reflect the predominately Catholic faith of the artists. Traditional religious subjects
include Our Lady of Guadalupe (the patron saint of Mexico) and Christ of the Crucifixion, affectionately known
as «El Chuy.» Crosses, rosaries, praying hands and pictures of saints are other common religious images. These
paños express respect for, or belief in, the protective and redemptive power of these spiritual figures and of
religion in general.

Memory / La Memoria: Isolated from their families and communities for long periods of time, inmates craft
paños as gifts to mail from prison. Sentimental images or portraits of those close to the artists help maintain
bonds of family, love or friendship. Paño artists also recall their life in the barrio (neighborhood), showing
landmarks or people they knew well on the outside. Paños can function much the way valentines do, using
words, symbols and pictures to communicate love. Paños made for wives or girlfriends often express romantic
love. Paños for children might include cartoon characters and popular culture figures. Mothers, aunts and
grandmothers often received paños with images of Catholic saints, the Virgin of Guadalupe and Christ.

On the Outside: Until recently, paño art has had a low profile outside of prison. Outside, paños lost the value
they once had within the prison system, becoming souvenirs of prison life meaningful only to the ex-inmate
and his or her associates, not to society at large.

MOHS exhibit
Sdr. Boulevard 98
DK-1720 Copenhagen V
Denmark

www.donutchocula.blogspot.dk / janvier 2013

Le taffeur / April 2013
Paños created in US prisons spark the passion of exhibitor in France
13 Jun

PAC asked Reno Angelo Leplat-Torti, an artist and curator of exhibitions of Chicano prison art in France, to
tell us a bit about himself, how his interest in prison art developed, and what kind of impact his exhibitions are
having.

My name is Reno Angelo Leplat-Torti. I was born in France, but my family emigrated from Italy in the 40’s. I
studied art, and then I became an assistant in two different art schools’ silkscreen workshops. I created my own
publishing house 10 years ago, and I’m also organizing a big alternative comic festival in France. I’m trying to
keep my own “artistic practice” in the midst of all that.

I’ve been interested in “folk art” and in what French speakers call Art Brut (“outsider art”) since my early artistic
beginning. As a teenager I was a bookshop rat, and I started to read underground comics like Le Dernier Cri
publications. There, I discovered the raw drawings of Stu Mead, Mattt Konture, Moolinex, GaryPanter, Henry
Darger and Raymond Reynaud…I began to draw my own comics, found my passion, and began to pursue my
own path as an artist by entering art school.

I have always been interested in autodidact art, and discovered prison art while I was looking for prison-made
objects like tattoo machines, knives, etc. My first find was a Mickey Mouse hankie, or paño, which I framed.
Over time my collection of paños began to grow, and one day a friend with an art space asked if I’d like to
exhibit them.

When I’m setting up my exhibition, I really see the wall as an expression of emotions. I feel paños art is
something more intimate than a classic prison drawing, more personal. They are windows into a pinto’s heart,
and viewing them can feel intimate, almost indecent, like reading a letter belonging to someone else, but the
letter is so well written you can’t stop until the end – like the shame you can feel in reading the correspondence
between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren.

Paños art is so interesting to me because of the different dimensions it represents. First, this form has connections
to Chicano art, tattoo art, and religious art. But also this art form is a prime example of ”making the most
of what you have” – the artists are cutting up their pillows and bedsheets, and drawing with whatever they
can find inside. It’s not always a technical challenge – the pintos (Chicano slang for “convict”) are not always
excellent drawers – but they have time and they put their heart, their soul and their guts in it. And finally the
content, the prison hankies are often the only way pintos have to make a gift and express their feelings.

To develop contact with the artists whose work I collect and exhibit takes a very long time, because we need to
trust each other, and this is certainly more complicated for them than for me. Because I’m living in Europe it
sometimes takes three weeks to receive a letter, so to exchange is not easy. Most of the time I’m in contact with
family who send my mail. One guy sold me his hankies during his first week of freedom, first to ward off bad
luck, but also because he was needing the money. Now he’s able to follow his own exhibition on Facebook, and
he’s helping me a lot. With the families and the inmates I’m now developing very specials links. I’m trying to
help them as much as I can, and I think creating these exhibitions is like helping them to travel – they’re locked
up, but a piece of their hearts takes a plane and visits Europe. I try to send them photos as often as I can.

http://theprisonartscoalition.com / juin 2013

People who visit the exhibitions react very strongly, and most of the time in a positive way. When people in
Europe discover my collection they usually haven’t seen paños before, but they have a lot of references. The
American prison system is maybe better known here than the French one, especially through the cinema. We
don’t have gangs but people are really curious about them. I have found that when people see the paños, they
recognize some of the codes and symbols they see in American movies, hip hop music, and tattoo art.

It’s great to be able to share these life testimonies with the public. I once did a workshop in a jail in France. I
brought a few paños to the prisoners. My idea was to expose them to that practice and then have them draw
their own handkerchiefs using their own codes. I didn’t want them to use the Chicano aesthetic. That was
my first time in jail, and at the beginning I really didn’t know if they would like my ideas. But when I showed
them the hankies they were totally amazed by them, and by the thought that Latino gang members, who they
perceived as “tough guys,” can take a pen and draw to express their feelings.

They identified strongly with the American prisoners. They started to draw for the first time and were really
proud of what they created. The French hankies are exhibited with my collection until the 7th of May in the
MRAC, a museum in southern France.

I’m currently making plans for a documentary about pinto art. My experience in a French jail totally change
the preconceptions I had about the inmates, the guards and the “inside life,” so I’m hoping the film will help
people to meditate on the prison system. I don’t know what the outcomes will be, but if a viewer is seduced by
something produced by a prisoner serving a life sentence it is a positive step, right?

http://theprisonartscoalition.com / juin 2013

Connaissances des arts. Hors-série : Tatoueurs Tatoués. may 2014
Catalogue Tatoueurs tatoués. Quai Branly - Acte sud. may 2014
Catalogue Tatoueurs tatoués. Quai Branly - Acte sud. may 2014
Catalogue Tatoueurs tatoués. Quai Branly - Acte sud. may 2014
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Anonym © Courtesy Collection Leplat-Torti
Joe Calderon et jeff Malmin, notre intermédiaire.

Ricardo Ramirez (en haut à gauche) et ses prison homies

 ©MM Yu

Reno Leplat-Torti, born in 1984 in Marseille, is a silkscreen artist, graphic designer, comic book writer, documentary filmmaker, collector.
Issued from the graphzine, he joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes where he founded the publishing house Nunu. Five years ago,
gleaning on internet small artifacts made in prison, he discovered the art of paños. Struck by the power of both the subject and the form,
he takes contact with the families of american prisoners and then of prisoners by snail mail and now has a collection of more than 200
handkerchiefs presented in many galleries in Europe. He is currently preparing a documentary film on the subject.

Many exhibitions are scheduled for 2014 including Paris (Musée du Quai Branly (under exposure Tattooists / Tattooed), Belgrade / Serbia
(U10 Galerija), Manila / Philippines (Manuel Ocampo’s Bureau of Artistic Rehab)...
Reno Leplat-Torti
Born on february 26 1984 in Marseille (France)
17 rue du palais des Guilhem 34000 Montpellier
06.74.77.63.47
reno@arqaeda.com
www.nationculblanc.com
Artistic Curriculum Vitae
Exhibitions (s) :

The exhibition Paños, Reno Leplat-Torti’s collection has been presented at La milonga del’angel in Nîmes (FR) in october 2011, at Going Blind gallery
in Grenoble (FR) en février 2012, at Monte en l’air in Paris in march 2012, at Cri de l’encre gallery in Lyon (FR) in october 2012, at MOHS Gallery
in Copenhagen (DK) in january 2013, at Lycaon in Brussells (BE) in february 2013, at MRAC in Sérignan (FR) in april 2013, at le Dernier Cri in
Marseille (FR) in may 2013, at ChantierBoiteNoire gallery in Montpellier (FR) and in From point to point gallery in Nimes (FR) in september 2013,
and will be presented at Bureau of Artistic Rehab in Manila (PH) in april 2014, and at Quai Branly in Paris in may 2014.

El Ultimo Grito. Le Dernier Cri’s author. Mexico city. Mexico (October 2011)
Eyjafjallajökull. J-A Arzilier, P-G Coste, P.Garcia, A.Giroux et R. Leplat-Torti. Galerie Iconoscope in Montpellier (June 2010)
Visible I & 11. L'Atelier (Collective : Jean-Adrien Arzilier, Abdelkader Benchamma, Armelle Caron, Pierre-Guilhem Coste, Pablo Garcia, Alexandre
Giroux, Renaud Leplat-Torti, Mickaël Viala) Galerie Aldebaran à Castries (March and may 2010)
DC Kristmas XXX. Le Dernier Cri’s author. 5 place in Marseille. (January 2008)
Le Dernier Cri /15 ans de suractivation grafike. Le Dernier Cri’s author. Espace Beaurepaire, Paris (September 2007)
Mulhouse 007 Sélected to represent the Nîmes’s fine art school (June 2007)
Fromage et dessert. 5°grade students. Nîmes’s fine art school (May 2006)
Ex Naturæ. Hubert Duprat’s initiativ. Natural history Museum in Nîmes (April 2006)

Publications (sélection) :
Dopeman intégral. (to come in september 2013, Le Dernier Cri)
Paños. (Janvier 2012, Le Dernier Cri) Paños Chicanos. (Mai 2013, MRAC Sérignan)
Dues to meat, a Stu Mead video portrait. DVD documentaire (Juin 2011, Le Dernier Cri)
Le Beau Temps I et II. Experimental revue (Octobre 2009 et février 2010)
L’Horreur est Humaine (Vol.2 N°1) (Juin 2008 , Éditions Humeurs)
Hôpital Brut 08 (2007, Le Dernier Cri)
La Meilleure Façon d’Empiler les Bonbons (2005 , Éditions Hôtel Rivet)
CCU (2002, Nunu Editions)
WE Apologie (2001, self-published)

Résidences :
September 2011 Galerie ChantiersBoîteNoire, Montpellier
July to September 2010 École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier Agglomération
June 2010 Galerie Iconoscope, Montpellier
March to June 2010 Galerie Aldebaran, Castries (34)
February 2010 Galerie St Ravy, Montpellier
April/May 2007 Munzstrasse 10, Berlin (dans le cadre du réseau l’Age d’Or)

Expériences diverses :
Depuis 2011 Paños collector and curator of the exhibition.
2011 Founder and designer of the website www.arqaeda.com a website with the aim to bring together a network of editors,
filmmakers, music labels around the dissemination of independent cultural and artistic products.
2009 Founder of the artist collective L’Atelier (Abdelkader Benchamma, Armelle Caron, Grout / Mazéas ...) whose main
objective is to establish a workshop and printing by pooling the technical member.

2008 Founder and artistic director of the «Fuck Off». The «off» of the Angoulême festival
April 2005 Founder and president of the publishing house Nunu aimed discovery, dissemination and promotion of young artists
through different media (drawing, music and video ...)
Since 2000 Designing posters, flyers, illustrations, zines, newspapers, books and catalogs:
- The Regional Museum of Contemporary Art Sérignan, School of Fine Arts in Nîmes, the School of Fine Arts in
Montpellier Agglomeration, the publishing house Hotel Rivet, Nunu editions, Le Dernier Cri ...
- For artists including Olivier Mosset, Tania Mouraud, Hubert Duprat, Cécile Bart, Yves Bélorgey Abdelkader
Benchamma, Armelle Caron, Jean-Jacques Rousseau ...