the essential
Pierre Leguens, better known under the pseudonym Piero, is the founder of the tattoo parlor La Cour des miracles, in Toulouse, which is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary. He saw this artistic discipline like no other transform during his career, inevitably rock’n roll.
Piero is one of the most famous tattoo figures in Toulouse. Although he is not the oldest, he has nevertheless been at the head for fifteen years of the Court of Miracles, one of the most important exhibitions in the Pink City, which extends over 300 square meters and brings together permanently between ten and fifteen artists. He is also a trainer. Over the years, he taught enough tattoo artists the trade to cover the entirety of the City’s residents with ink. Rest assured, this is not the case yet, well not quite.
Because between Piero’s beginnings and today, the discipline has become largely democratized. “Before, you got a tattoo so you didn’t look like your neighbor. Today, you get a tattoo to look like your neighbor,” he smiles. This Sunday, he is celebrating the anniversary of his salon with great fanfare: he is taking over the Bikini for the Urban Discipline festival. Around ten artists from the show will be present to tattoo visitors for free, during sessions accompanied by punk concerts. A festival in its image, rock’n’roll.
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Pierre Laguens, 51 years old this year, grew up in Montpellier in a “die-hard” family. “At 17, I was already tattooed, I thought it was cool. I wanted girls and money,” he jokes. Very quickly, he dreamed of becoming an apprentice in a salon that he frequented assiduously. “At the time, there wasn’t a lot of creativity. Salons had flashes (pre-drawn tattoos) delivered to them. Punk and biker iconography was in the majority.” Pierre begins to draw, until the day he is allowed to add a few bats to a haunted house tattoo project.
On punk skins
He also plays bass in a group, the Electric Buttocks, a name chosen in reference to Foufounes Électriques, the underground bar in Montreal. “A tattoo artist I knew saw God and quit, he let me get all his supplies.” He practices at home. Instead of training on banana or pig skins, I took punk skins, says Piero. I would catch punks sitting at the foot of fountains and bring them home.”
When he was hired in Paris, he really learned the trade alongside a certain Riton, in a “very gay glitter” salon, where starlets had their habits. No more tattoos of big machines on an entire arm… In the Marais, we prefer small tattoos. Piero refines his art, tattoos Thierry Mugler among others, then meets the future mother of his children. She is in cosmetics: between them, they open a business on the Champs Elysées, but the business does not hold up.
Piero went down to Grasse, before landing in Toulouse in 2003. “I went around lots of cities, I was looking for one that was good for tattooing,” he remembers. In Toulouse, I felt good , there is a good alternative momentum. All the shows – around ten at the time – were booked. Some had a real artistic approach. Piero’s specialty is Japanese tattoos and portraits. He opened several salons before creating the Cour des miracles, initially rue Montoulieu-Vélane, then rue Idrac, where he is still located.
The Quincy Jones of the living room
He trains a lot of tattoo artists. Some stay, others leave for new horizons. Egon Weissberger, for example, has since become a highly sought-after reference. Some come as guests for a week, or rent for longer periods. All sensibilities are represented: Japanese, geometric, old school, manga, graffiti, lettering, etc. Egos are present too, as in all artistic fields. “I choose them according to their characters, jokes Piero. It’s a particular balance to find. I’m a bit like the Quincy Jones of “We are the world” (the director of the song which brought together lots of stars, including Michael Jackson , editor’s note).
Piero has watched the world of tattooing evolve with a laughing eye. “It’s more difficult than before. Twenty years ago, you just had to draw an approximately straight skull to be the star of your town. Now, there’s a lot of careerism. The good part is is that the competition raised the level, it opened the door to lots of good artists.”
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