Latin America at the 2013 International Codex Artist Book Fair

• By: Adan Griego
• On: 02/19/2013 13:11:55
• In: Book Fairs & Trip Notes

When the first Codex Artist Book Fair opened in 2007 it was a bold move, probably questioned by those who saw the future of books in anything but the printed word, much less, those handmade, not matter how artistically crafted. Six years later, opening day for Codex IV experienced such a success that organizers ran out of tickets and had to improvise as the day progressed.  An elderly couple wondered what was going on: "it's a book fair, an artist book fair,” I added, on my way the exhibit hall. They were seen later that day browsing the aisles with almost 200 exhibitors from all over the world.
As in previous years, Europe had the largest contingent but Latin America was well represented with over 10 artists and exhibitors: Mexico alone had eight registered exhibitors. Several of the Latin American artist books are present in many SALALM libraries, like the works of Taller Ditoria from Guadalajara and Catherine Docter from Guatemala. Perhaps less familiar is the cultural production of several other book artists, all of whom have been admired by the more than 4,000 attendees  at Codex IV. Mexico's varied presence is due in great part to the Codex Foundation's efforts to reach beyond Western Europe and Anglophone speaking-areas. A recent cultural "encuentro" of California and Mexican book artists was held in several venues: Tequila and Guadalajara (Fall 2011) and Puebla (Summer 2012). That fruitful artistic dialogue has come North. It will soon travel East to our nation's capital later this Spring at the Mexican Cultural Institute. Latin America was also present with fellow SALALMista Steven Daiber from Red Trillium Press, who had recently returned from Cuba, also attending from the Caribbean was Consuelo Gotay. Germany's Eckhard Froeschlin arrived via Matagalpa, Nicaragua. San Francisco's Luis Delgado Qualtrough and Moving Parts