A lost gem of permutational conceptualism from a key figure in artist's book culture, available again

Known internationally as one of Mexico's most important conceptual artists, Ulises Carrión (1941-89) played a decisive role in defining and conceptualizing the genre of the artists' book through his manifesto, The New Art of Making Books (1975), which he wrote soon after the 1972 publication of SONNET(S) and his move from Mexico City to Amsterdam, where he opened the legendary bookshop gallery, Other Books and So, the first space dedicated exclusively to artists' publications and an important precursor to such artists' book hubs as Printed Matter.

One of Carrión's earliest bookworks, SONNET(S) represents a landmark shift in the artist's output from poetry to artists' books. Here, Carrión takes a single poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti through 50 typographic and procedural permutations. This republication is supplemented by new essays on Carrión's bookworks by contemporary artists, writers, and scholars from Mexico, Europe and the US. 

Published March 2021

Facsimile of the seminal magazine created by Ulises Carrión and Cres, originally published in 1978. In this photographic book—one of very few of Carrion's entire practice—the author is very critical about his own affiliation with the mail art movement. The book presents a series a photographs of his calling card filing box, which the author juxtaposes with witty and poignant captions.

“This book of mine is partly real facts and partly fantasy. The real fact is that I love lists of names, card indexes, information retrieval systems, that sort of thing. No wonder I have an archive at home, the Other Books and So Archive, which includes a collection of artist's books.”

Ulises Carrión (1941-1989) is one of the most important figures of Mexican conceptual art. His 1975 manifesto The New Art of Making Books help defined artist's books as an autonomous artistic genre. His work includes numerous artist's books—which was then designated as bookworks—but also video art, sound arts, performance and mail art.