Description

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Artepa os are kerchiefs transformed into works of art by prisoners that alternatively self-identify as Chicano, Mexican-American, Latino, and/or Hispanic. Artepa o: Chicano Prisoner Kerchief Art presents a thorough sampling of the distinctive styles found in pa o art with more than 60 plates. The artworks range from simple valentines to chilling threats and grand biographical narratives. The vast majority of the work is drawn from the collection of Reno Leplat-Torti, collector of the largest assemblage of kerchief art in the world. Mr. Leplat-Torti's selections are augmented by works from the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art collection and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum.

The works are given context through annotations by curator Dr. lvaro Ibarra. The publication also features an essay by renowned Latinx scholar, Professor Ben V. Olguin, the Robert and Liisa Erickson Presidential Chair in English, and the Director of the Global Latinidades Project, in the English Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Olguin's essay essay will explore the current state of artistic production in American penitentiaries and the future of the artepa o tradition. Additionally, the catalog will include an interview with Mr. Leplat-Torti concerning his journey as a pa o collector and as an advocate for prison rehabilitation programs and prisoner rights.