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Handmade books on display

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Staff

by Betsy McClelland
Staff Writer

There are many intriguing and unique books in the exhibit “Hecho a Mano: Book Arts of Latin America.” There are handmade books from Mexico about Mayan culture, books made with recycled cardboard covers from Argentina and books from Cuba that have covers made out of bagasse, a material from the sugarcane plant. The curator of the exhibit, Teresa Chapa, bibliographer of Latin American and Iberian Resources at UNC, has been collecting books for the university since 2001. Some bookmakers have access to fine press materials but many do not.

“Something about what they do [without these materials] is just so clever,” said Chapa.

Most of the books are made by talleres, or workshops. One of Chapa’s favorite books is La Jícara (1998), or “the gourd,” made by Taller Leñateros to celebrate peace in Guatemala. Taller Leñateros is in Chiapas, Mexico, and one of its goals is to preserve Mayan cultures. The taller makes its own paper and dyes, using traditional methods for its projects. The founder of Leñateros, Ámbar Past, will be at UNC on Aug. 27 to speak about the taller. Past was born in Durham.

Along with Leñateros, other talleres well represented in the collection are Ediciones Vigía of Matanzas, Cuba and Eloisa Cartonera of Buenos Aires. The primary objective of Ediciones Vigía is to create a cultural center in Matanzas. Upon its founding, the primary goal of Eloisa Cartonera was to provide inexpensive literature in the wake of the Argentinian economic crisis of a few years ago. According to Chapas, Eloisa Cartonera was named for the unrequited love of one of its members — a woman named Eloisa. He even wrote her notes in the margins of the early works the taller produced, but she never responded.

It is stories like this that make the exhibit compelling. Chapas hopes that the exhibition encourages academic research and appreciation for the books and their makers. There are more books in the collection that are not on display. These books are housed in the Sloane Art Library and the Rare Books Room of Wilson Library.

The exhibit runs through Oct. 12 in the Melba Remig Saltarelli Room of UNC’s Wilson Library. Ámbar Past, founder of Taller Leñateros, will be in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room of Wilson Library on Aug. 27 at 5:45p.m. For details, visit www.lib.unc.edu or call 962-4207 or 962-3948.

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