Printing Book Covers On Our Dinner Table  | By Felipe Mujica and Johanna Unzueta

Our home-operated book-editing project has no name or title. Following a model of affectionate economy the books we edit, design and print serve as a way to distribute ideas and history, both our own as well as of other artists and people we respect and admire. With a main focus on contemporary art our books have also dealt with subjects such as music, collaboration, education, poetry and experimental architecture. Coming from Chile we have the feeling of being somehow in a handicapped situation in regards to the mainstream of international art and art publications, and therefore always at the edge of the shadow of history, even in comparison with other Latin American countries. This is why we feel the need to publish.

 The books we design and print are mostly made in small editions that range from 100 to 500. The way these books come to life is always in collaboration with other people and institutions. Somehow uniting efforts specific to each project –both in terms of content as well as in terms of funding– we are able to produce our books keeping expenses to a minimum. Another very important factor for us is distribution. Except for occasional book launches our distribution is done entirely hand to hand, giving books away for free one person at a time. This has become an exchange system that is far rewarding than any possible commercial value the book might have: the books we make become a mean of exchange, of ideas, values and intentions. In this sense we use the production of books as a way to create knowledge for others as well as for ourselves, being each book its own research project, sometimes related to an exhibition, sometimes not.

Each book also has its own design approach, combining different printing methods such as offset, risograph and silkscreen print. We care about both the quality of content as well as the quality of form, the final product hopes to be as interesting to the eye as well as to touch. Our main collaborator in terms of production is Keegan Cooke from Circadian Press, a small printing studio located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  Our main collaborator in terms of texts, translations and copy-editing is Michele Faguet, a writer and ex-curator based in Berlin.

 

List of publications –

1-   “Local People” (2009)

Edition of 500. Offset and silkscreen printed jacket.  Monographic book of Johanna Unzueta’s work published in conjunction to her solo project at The Queens Art Museum, New York.

2-   “Trapped by Mutual Affection – collaborations 1997-2010” (2010)

Edition of 500. Offset and silkscreen printed jacket. Galería Chilena and other collaborative projects until 2010, published in conjunction to a series of exhibitions in Europe.

3-   “Peace, Love and Rockets” (2011)

Edition of 100. Digital print with original inkjet poster as jacket. Catalogue published in conjunction to the exhibition at Center for Book Arts, New York. The show intended to select and exhibit examples of alternative music production and design from 4 different geographies and contexts: Europe, North America, Latin America and China.

4- "Hotel de insectos" (2012) 

Edition of 1000. Offset print. This book is an exception of the group as it was part of the CH.Aco - Colección Finlandia Prize of 2012 won by Johanna Unzueta. Quantity, size and materiality are determined by Ediciones CH.Aco, not the artists.  Design by Felipe Mujica and Johanna Unzueta.

5-  “Arquitectura y amistad” (2014)

Edition of 100. Risograph print with silkscreen printed jacket, hand made coptic stitch binding. This book works as both a catalogue and an artist book. It shows 4 projects made in collaboration by Felipe Mujica and Johanna Unzueta during 2013.

6-   “Pelota como jugador, jugador como cancha – Manuel Casanueva y Los Torneos, 1974-1992” (2014)

Edition of 275. Offset print with silkscreen printed jacket. Homage book to Manuel Casanueva, architect and teacher at La Escuela de Valparaiso –an experimental architectural school located in Valparaiso, Chile. Printed in conjunction to exhibition project by Felipe Mujica at Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico City.

7-   “América” (2015)

Edition of 100. Risograph print with dry letterpress engraved cover. Collaborative poetry book project developed by Nicole Delgado during her residency at ISCP New York organized by Beta-Local (Puerto Rico).