Photo by Ricardo Blasco.

The Private Life of Rag Dolls 

First published in 1976, now reissued in 2020 as a photobook, including its original texts by Aquiles Nazoa. The time elapsed between the first publication and the present reissue shows the consequences of policies that ruined Venezuela as a rich state.

The images in the book include photographs by Godofredo Romero from the original edition, archival images from the author’s family archive, and new images made by Samoel González from the almost 80 dolls recreated with the help of Gladys Montaño (1924–2021), an embroidery artist

Two different types of paper and bindings were used in this book. Papers include Neenah Classic Crest, and Bible paper for smaller inserts. The fonts used in the book are Graphika and GT Haptik, creating contrast between the archival images and the modernist typefaces. One works well at smaller sizes, the other for titles. Tilted, it playfully emulates the way children tend to learn how to write the alphabet.

 

Accolades: Selected by the Center for Book Arts, New York, as a 2020 featured artist project. Exhibited in Notions of Exile, Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC. Both exhibitions featured public programming.

Aquiles Nazoa (1920–1976) talks about life in Venezuela in his modest neighborhood. He was one of Venezuela’s most prominent writers, humorists, and journalists.  Translation and prologue by Luis Moreno Villamediana. “At that time, the capital of Venezuela was the place where you could find the stagnation of the state, the European ways of the Belle Epoque, and some features of the American culture recently brought in by the exploitation of oil.” 

Video by Carlos Beltran
Printed offset, hand-bound in Venezuela. Published by Letra Muerta Inc. Printed at Ex Libris Press.
Exhibit at Center for Book Arts of New York (2020)
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Intervention based on original photo by Godofredo Romero made for the book published in 2020 by Letra Muerta.

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