Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Illegal prison art: Paños
Really cool story by Michael Hoinski at Texas Monthly on "paños, the handkerchiefs that prisoners decorate with black ballpoint
pens or colored pencils—or, in a pinch, with coffee beans, ash, and even
egg yolk (it makes a nice yellow color)." They've been outlawed in Texas prisons, but prisoners keep making them and art collectors are snatching them up.
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13 comments:
Where I worked we thought these drawings were so cool until we found the hidden gang symbols, etc. in them.
One of the perks of working for TDC, then TDCJ, in the 90's was getting to shop at the "Piddlin" shop. I still have paintings, belts, a wallet, and a suspect "Dooney" purse that my wife still uses. Never will forgive the policy change that curtailed not only an interesting store; but also a way for the inmates to profit from their artistic expression.
"They've been outlawed in Texas prisons..."
And that is why they are so valuable. Duh.
@7:53, please point them out, e.g., in the piece pictured in this post.
If they buy the hankerchiefs at the commissary, and they buy their own pens and pencils what's the big deal. I have a bunch that my son did for me. The crime is: TDCJ can't stand to see anyone being productive. This is so petty
Here is a link to a nice essay on paños art that talks about the iconography, including gang and drug related themes. There is an element of the art that is about coded messaging (like what art isn't about that, eh?).
http://www.nationculblanc.com/PanosChicanosKitPressEN.pdf
I searched through that piece on the word "gang, 4:47, and it's pretty weak tea if that's all you've got. (Interesting article otherwise, but it doesn't support your point except to say that's the reason Texas prisons banned them - there's little explication of specific imagery.) Please be specific, for example, and point out the gang imagery in the piece in this post.
I'm sure that's true of some paños, but you could say the same of letter writing. People may write stuff related to gangs, even in coded language, but that hardly justifies banning all mail.
At TJJD we have seen lots of hidden gang and drug symbols in drawings. Many are pretty obvious to those who work with this population. I don't know about TDCJ first hand but I suspect that this pattern would be fairly similar.
Again, 6:20, one can encode messages in a letter, does that justify banning mail?
No one doubts gang or drug symbols can be included in art. The question is, does that mean art should be banned?
The argument for banning all art is even less compelling if you're right that most of the gang and drug stuff is "pretty obvious." That implies you could censor forbidden topics without banning the medium, just like mail is monitored and censored but not banned.
The "eagle has landed." Heroin has been delivered to the unit.
The argument for banning all art...
Suddenly anyone who has a comment differing from yours wants to "ban all art!"
I suppose that someone who comments on litter along the highways could be described as wanting to close traffic on all freeways.
This over the top reaction to even the slightest difference of opinion is telling.
Grits ~ I'm sure that eventually now that Jpay is permitted for outsiders to mail in to inmates, that will become the ONLY means of communicating with inmates excluding the phone system (which is still not available to anyone outside of the US).
TDCJ have a not-so-hidden agenda when it comes to banning things.
Grits, banning this specific type of medium should be considered not only racism but another form of harassment and discrimination as well. Speaking as a former political prisoner, I can speak in a been there done that manner and know for a fact that you want everyone drawing all day long and on weekends. You need an ART class to keep idle hands busy with Bic Pens vs transforming Bic Razors and toothbrushes into shanks. Find me a guard that is anti Art or gives a shit about whats perceived to be in the images and I show you a old fat white man with marital problems. Visit any guard's house or his / her families un-announced and you'll see so-called prison Art proudly framed in some cases. If you suspect a gang member is tweeting via Art then concentrate on that members products instead of system wide shut down that cause problems.
The Mexican artists should consider suing in mass on grounds of gross discrimination simply because they chose to target one type of art that they want the public to believe is susceptible to supporting a covert messaging system utilized by gangs.
Next they'll try to ban making Eye Contact, walking this way, & holding ones balls while discussing the Mavs. If they want to ban something they should look into slamming dominoes on metal tables and yelling fiten and that ball holding thing that could be a message in its self. How about banning excessive heat and unbearable cold. How about banning the use of the N word and sports of any kind since both could be used to insert messages. See where stupidity goes when unchecked.
The prison watchdog groups should consider researching the prison crime rates before the ban and on a annual basis to show the cause & effect the ban has. I can promise you that (study or no study), those that chose to use their artistic skills will be forced to switch over to strong arming newboots (mostly little whiteboys) aka: forcing them to Ride (pay protection with commissary). When someone is doing time and they don't have any family in their corner that loves them enough to send money to buy toothpaste from the U.S.A. they either shank a strong armmer, join a gang, or stay in their house and make money honestly.
Banning the act of drawing on a damn napkin, piece of cardboard or handkerchief is not about curbing the potential of gangs communicating, it's about fucking with certain inmates and that's that.
Try banning something that directly affects the Black Muslims like praying on a towel or recruiting at chow-time and you will see flames all the way from Austin. Then sit back and watch the NAACP, and an assortment of Senators, state reps and others of similar color use the race card in their law suites from hell.
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