This page focusses on the artists’ book co-published by Moving Parts Press and Museo Eduardo Carrillo.
Moving Parts Press, together with Museo Eduardo Carrillo, reunites five Central Coast Chicano/a/x artists in a collaborative and unique artists’ book, linking art and social movements of the 1960s rooted “en Califas” to the next generation of Latinx and other artists. The legacy of these artists reaches deeply into our communities, contributing to cultural unity, enhancing collective memory, and creating new awarenesses.
The book, CALIFAS: The Ancestral Journey / El Viaje Ancestral, grows out of the Califas Legacy Project led by Betsy Andersen, Executive Director of Museo Eduardo Carrillo. The project documents four decades of the work of five artists from the Central Coast region—Yermo Aranda (2020 Santa Cruz Artist of the Year), Eduardo Carrillo (1937-1997), Ralph D’Oliveira, Carmen León, and Amalia Mesa-Bains. The Califas Legacy Project is multifaceted and includes documentary videos, exhibitions, community programming, and online resources. Nine organizations are participating in a series of events taking place between January and April 2021 (full schedule here).
Eighteen short bilingual videos documenting The Califas Legacy Project and the CALIFAS book are available on Museo Eduardo Carrillo’s youtube channel here. The full set of Califas videos will be shared through VoCA, Voices in Contemporary Art, starting in May 2021. VoCA is a non-profit organization that addresses the production, presentation, and preservation of contemporary art.
Exhibitions of the Califas project celebrate Latino arts in the Monterey Bay Crescent and begin in January 2021 at the Monterey Museum of Art. Other books from the Moving Parts Press Chicanx/Latinx Series will also be on view in Felicia Rice in Virtual FLUX at the museum.
See the online Califas Legacy Project exhibition on the Museo Eduardo Carrillo and Santa Cruz Art League websites here, plus a panel discussion with the artists. A series of Google Arts & Cultural online exhibitions featuring the artists and CALIFAS book has begin with the work of legacy artist, Carmen Léon here.
A series of banners of the book, CALIFAS The Ancestral Journey/El Viaje Ancestral, is on display in the windows of both the Santa Cruz Public Library and the Watsonville Public Library. Santa Cruz Public Libraries has been awarded a California Humanities grant for this programming.
Phase One of the book, CALIFAS
In order to capture the public mural and installation forms in which these artists engage, they have created a one-of-a-kind collaborative “mural” hand painted in an accordion-fold book with an assemblage shadow box on the cover. The book is designed and letterpress printed by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press. A facsimile of this unique artists’ book has been reproduced in a very small edition, less than ten copies, for distribution to the collaborators. Unfortunately, one of these copies was destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex fire at Moving Parts Press in August 2020, along with the rest of the the Press’s archive of artists’ books and the entire letterpress print shop. The original book has been acquired by Stanford Libraries and is safely in its collection.
Phase Two of the book, CALIFAS
A commercially-printed edition of 750 copies of the book will be given to schools, universities, colleges, libraries, museums, and other cultural and social service agencies throughout the tri-county Central Coast region of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. These smaller scale accordion-fold books are designed and edited by Felicia Rice, printed by Community Printers in Santa Cruz, and bound by hand at Moving Parts Press. Phase Two went into two printings because 500 of the first 750 were destroyed by the fire that devastated Moving Parts Press in August 2020 (more on the fire here).
Artists
Yermo Aranda (2020 Santa Cruz Artist of the Year)
Eduardo Carrillo (1937-1997)
Ralph D’Oliveira
Carmen León
Amalia Mesa-Bains
Introduction
Gabriela Rodriguez-Gomez
Exhibitions :: Events
The book will roll out in a phased schedule in Winter 21. A complete list of exhibitions and events here.
Details
Califas: The Ancestral Journey / El Viaje Ancestral was produced in a limited edition of one original copy with a shadow box created by Amalia Mesa-Bains and paintings by Yermo Aranda, Eduardo Carrillo (via Betsy Andersen), Ralph D’Oliveira, and Carmen León, as part of a collaborative project by Betsy Andersen of Museo Eduardo Carrillo and Moving Parts Press.
The book was designed using Lithos and Weiss types by Felicia Rice, and letterpress printed from photopolymer plates on Arches paper by Rice at Moving Parts Press, Santa Cruz. Seven facsimiles were digitally printed on Somerset paper by Real Color, Santa Cruz. The binding was executed by John DeMerritt, Oakland. Dimensions: 18 x 18 inches (extends to 18 feet).
The original book was adapted by Rice for an edition of 750 copies printed by Community Printers, Santa Cruz, with additional photography by r.r. jones. Irene Rodríguez López provided the Spanish translation. Due to a devastating fire at Moving Parts Press, a second printing of 500 copies was undertaken. Rice coordinated the binding at Moving Parts Press. Dimensions: 7.75 x 7.75 inches (extends to 7.75 feet).
Copyright © 2020 Moving Parts Press and Museo Eduardo Carrillo, and the contributing artists and authors. All rights reserved. For permissions or information contact Moving Parts Press at frice@movingpartspress.com.
Support
Museo Eduardo Carrillo provided cultural stewardship. Thanks to the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz City Arts, and hit & run press for their support for this project.
From the CHICANX/LATINX SERIES Artists’ Books
This series explores the intersection of cultures, disciplines, and book structures. These works of contemporary Chicanx/Latinx artists and writers in translation are issued in both limited and trade editions. Each book is the result of a close collaboration between writer, artist and the book artist, Felicia Rice.