Oubapo
Encyclopedia
OuBaPo is a comics
movement which believes in the use of formal
constraints
to push the boundaries of the medium. OuBaPo is styled after the French
literary movement Oulipo
(Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle), founded by Raymond Queneau
and Georges Perec
. Oubapo was founded in November 1992 in the Ou-X-Po
and announced in L'Association
's French comics edition.
Reduction: A book or comic summarized in very few panels
Reversibility: A comic that can be read back to front
Iconic Alliteration: The same drawing reproduced throughout the whole comic with only the words changing
had established a reputation for his various conceptual comics, such as Le dormeur and Psychanalyse, both of which were created entirely with a single photocopied panel. Similarly, Bleu and La nouvelle pornographie were both billed as "abstract comic books." After completing Psychanalyse, Trondheim was challenged by fellow cartoonist Jean-Christophe Menu
to write a story with only four panels, drawn by Menu. After some strips, Trondheim asked for four more panels, and wrote the highly dense comic book, Moins d'un quart de seconde pour vivre. The constrained writing
results, reminiscent of OuLiPo
writers, became the basis for OuBaPo. (During this period, Trondheim, Menu, and a few other cartoonists had also co-founded the publisher L'Association
, which later published many of the group's books.)
Menu, Trondheim, six other cartoonists, and comic-book historian Gilles Ciment often frequented the Parisian artists' studio Nawak (French slang for "nonsense"), where they discussed comic book constraints over snacks and beer. The group founded OuBaPo under the mantra that "constraints free the artistic mind."
Over the course of the next decade, the nine founding members met three times a year and worked on various constraints. OuBaPo created a board game called Scroubabble — based on Scrabble
but with comic-book panels instead of letters. They also created a comic-book tale that repeated itself endlessly. Their first collection of works, OuPus 1, was published in 1997; three more OuPus books were published between 2003–2005. In addition, the group held several exhibitions in Paris.
In 2005, Trondheim and Menu had a falling out over the direction of the group, with Trondheim leaving the group in the fall of 2006. In 2007, another one of the founders quit after a disagreement with Menu. In 2008, founder Ciment (director of a French cultural center dedicated to comics) left after also arguing with Menu.
In November 2010, an OuBaPo delegation went to Rennes
to celebrate Oulipo's 50th anniversary. There, the OuBaPo members played Scroubabble before a live audience.
is OuBaPo's "U.S. correspondent."
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
movement which believes in the use of formal
Formalism (art)
In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form--the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content...
constraints
Constrained comics
Constrained comics is a form of comics that places some fundamental constraint on form. By adding a constraint, the artist is attempting to produce original art within tightly defined boundaries....
to push the boundaries of the medium. OuBaPo is styled after the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
literary movement Oulipo
Oulipo
Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
(Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle), founded by Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau was a French poet and novelist and the co-founder of Ouvroir de littérature potentielle .-Biography:Born in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, Queneau was the only child of Auguste Queneau and Joséphine Mignot...
and Georges Perec
Georges Perec
Georges Perec was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist and essayist. He is a member of the Oulipo group...
. Oubapo was founded in November 1992 in the Ou-X-Po
Ouxpo
Ouxpo is an acronym for Ouvroir dX Potentielle. It is an umbrella group for Oulipo, Oubapo, Outrapo, etc. The term 'ouvroir', originally used in conjunction with works of charity, was reused by Raymond Queneau for a blend of 'ouvroir' and 'œuvre' and roughly corresponds to the English 'workshop'...
and announced in L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
's French comics edition.
Meaning of the name
The term "ouvroir," originally used in conjunction with works of charity, was reused by Queneau for a blend of "ouvroir" and "œuvre" ("work") and roughly corresponds to the English "workshop." The term "potential" is used in the sense of that which is possible, or realisable if one follows certain rules. Thus, "OuBaPo" can be roughly translated as "Potential Comics Workshop."Constraints
Some OuBapoian constraints:Reduction: A book or comic summarized in very few panels
Reversibility: A comic that can be read back to front
Iconic Alliteration: The same drawing reproduced throughout the whole comic with only the words changing
History
By the late 1980s, cartoonist Lewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
had established a reputation for his various conceptual comics, such as Le dormeur and Psychanalyse, both of which were created entirely with a single photocopied panel. Similarly, Bleu and La nouvelle pornographie were both billed as "abstract comic books." After completing Psychanalyse, Trondheim was challenged by fellow cartoonist Jean-Christophe Menu
Jean-Christophe Menu
Jean-Christophe Menu is a French underground cartoonist, graphic designer, writer and publisher best known for being one of the founders of L'Association, an influential comic book and art book publishing company from France often regarded as one of the key figures in the independent comic...
to write a story with only four panels, drawn by Menu. After some strips, Trondheim asked for four more panels, and wrote the highly dense comic book, Moins d'un quart de seconde pour vivre. The constrained writing
Constrained writing
Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern.Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form....
results, reminiscent of OuLiPo
Oulipo
Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
writers, became the basis for OuBaPo. (During this period, Trondheim, Menu, and a few other cartoonists had also co-founded the publisher L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
, which later published many of the group's books.)
Menu, Trondheim, six other cartoonists, and comic-book historian Gilles Ciment often frequented the Parisian artists' studio Nawak (French slang for "nonsense"), where they discussed comic book constraints over snacks and beer. The group founded OuBaPo under the mantra that "constraints free the artistic mind."
Over the course of the next decade, the nine founding members met three times a year and worked on various constraints. OuBaPo created a board game called Scroubabble — based on Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
but with comic-book panels instead of letters. They also created a comic-book tale that repeated itself endlessly. Their first collection of works, OuPus 1, was published in 1997; three more OuPus books were published between 2003–2005. In addition, the group held several exhibitions in Paris.
In 2005, Trondheim and Menu had a falling out over the direction of the group, with Trondheim leaving the group in the fall of 2006. In 2007, another one of the founders quit after a disagreement with Menu. In 2008, founder Ciment (director of a French cultural center dedicated to comics) left after also arguing with Menu.
In November 2010, an OuBaPo delegation went to Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
to celebrate Oulipo's 50th anniversary. There, the OuBaPo members played Scroubabble before a live audience.
Membership
A very select group, there is no membership application to OuBaPo. Candidates are singled out and elected by unanimous acclimation of the existing members. The group's nine current members live in France, the United States, Spain, and Switzerland. American cartoonist Matt MaddenMatt Madden
Matt Madden is a U.S. comic book writer and artist. He is best known for original alternative comics, for his coloring work in traditional comics, and for the experimental work 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, which is based on the idea of Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style...
is OuBaPo's "U.S. correspondent."
Founding members
- François Ayroles
- Anne Baraou
- Gilles Ciment — no longer a member
- Jochen Gerner
- Thierry Groensteen
- Patrice KillofferPatrice KillofferPatrice Killoffer, better known simply as Killoffer, is an writer and artist of comics. He was co-founder of the independent comics publisher L'Association in 1990, and has been a part of Oubapo since its creation in 1992.-Career:Patrice Killoffer studied at the School for Applied Arts Duperré in...
- Étienne LécroartÉtienne LécroartÉtienne Lécroart is a French cartoonist. He is a founder and key member of Oubapo association, Ouvroir de BAnde dessinée POtentielle. He has composed cartoons that could be read either horizontally, vertically, or in diagonal, et vice-versa...
- Jean-Christophe MenuJean-Christophe MenuJean-Christophe Menu is a French underground cartoonist, graphic designer, writer and publisher best known for being one of the founders of L'Association, an influential comic book and art book publishing company from France often regarded as one of the key figures in the independent comic...
- Lewis TrondheimLewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
— no longer a member
Books published
- OuPus 1 (L'Association, 1997)
- OuPus 2 (L'Association, 2003)
- OuPus 3 (L'Association, 2004)
- OuPus 4 (L'Association, 2005)