Books of artist

(c)acto is an experiment in publishing that explores the book-art and the book-object formats for conveying literary contents, mostly in the fields of experimental writing and short prose.

FOLDED QUADRUPLETS. Four books that by folding and unfolding paper generate another reading experience that is not linear, but random. The Folded Quadruplets serve my publishing purpose of interacting sensory with the readers to provoke in them the urgency of acts of reading, therefore I created these books as a Trojan horse to smuggle literature through the worship of the object in everyday life. These books which look not like books have become objects with other functions than the one that can be perceived at first glance.

Mesa de (c)acto en Cuarta Edición. Feria de editoriales independientes, del Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil

Microdosis de textos latinoamericanos (Micro Dosis of Latin American Texts)

One hundred Latin American short texts, which the reader folds and fits in one of a hundred slots of the plastic case.

100 writers, 8 copies

Plastic case, stripes of paper, magnifying glass, gloves, and tweezers

Pío

Origami pyramid, rolled paper, paper envelope, 7 digital prints, 1 mini-CD
This was a performance book and a total of 7 were made during the 4th Edition. Independent Publishers Fair of the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil.

Short story in seven chapters with seven illustrations and a seven-track soundtrack, all contained in an origami pyramid folded in a performance where the writer/publisher story tells a part of the tale that is unwritten.

1 writer, 2 translators, 1 musician, 1 illustrator, 1 performer

Pasaporte (Passport)

Three writers dispose of their texts both in their native language and in a translation made by themselves. The featured languages include Spanish, Russian, French, German, and English. This accordion book explores the idea of how two different languages through the same writer create two different authors for the same text.

Accordion book in three blocks
3 writers, 10 copies

Beutel Frau/Bolso de dama (Lady’s Purse)

Sanitary pads paper bag stamped in offset, paper applications, and folded paper
11 writers, 20 copies

Eleven women from different professional fields write short essays, prose, or dramaturgy pieces, about the experience of being a woman in dissimilar situations living in the 21st Century.

The impressions of Germany, which (c)acto brought from there, were also unusual. In Germany, the writer and publisher Beatriz Alejandra Paz came across garbage bags for sanitary napkins and tampons that seemed completely absurd to her. The publishing press (c)acto, which she runs, now packs essays into these bags about being a woman in the 21st Century. Other products from (c)acto also include multimedia origami pyramids that function as audiobooks and puzzles.

-Von Johannes Thumfart

Deutsche Mexiko-Zeitung