DOC / UNDOC
Documentado/Undocumented
Ars Shamánica Performática
A traveling case for apprentice shamans
A reliquary for imaginary saints
A toolbox for self-transformation
A quiet call to heal yourself with fetishes and antidotes
A border kit to face the uncertainty of future crossings
A new project, seven years in the making
A mixed-media production housed in a hi-tech aluminum case, which contains Felicia Rice’s artists’ book DOC/UNDOC of performance texts by artist/writer Guillermo Gómez-Peña and critical commentary by art historian Jennifer González, video by Gómez-Peña and artist Gustavo Vazquez, and sound art by Zachary Watkins.
The object itself carries within a crisis of identity: What is it exactly? A stage for an intimate one-on-one performance? An unusual video screening room? A personal multi-media altar? A “vanity” used for preparing for a performance? It is all these things and it is also an original book, a performative artists’ book in search of a new format and a new audience. Each element stands by itself, but together they form an indescribable whole.
The limited edition of DOC/UNDOC is for sale. The deluxe edition of 15 includes the artists’ book in the aluminum case. In addition, 35 stand-alone artists’ books are also available.
Interested in purchasing or reviewing the work? Would you like to mount an exhibition with accompanying performances? Please contact Felicia Rice at frice@movingpartspress.com.
Quotes from the artists about the project:
“How do we create a more intimate, performative and ritualized experience for the viewer/participant in this unique book object? Its interactive dimension may be its main contribution to the field of experimental book art or rather “performative book art.” —Guillermo Gómez-Peña
“The book invites us to consider an ongoing tension as we navigate a world of politics and appearance, racism and immigration, self and other.” —Jennifer González
Praise for DOC/UNDOC:
“A fierce and salient cultural intervention, with myriad possibilities. Wild mind shamanic Gómez-Peña imprints his masterful, timeless persona here, as do other collaborators, and book artist Felicia Rice provides a powerful container—a microcosm/macrocosm for immigrant experience. Tactile, visual, expansive, explosive.”—Anne Waldman, poet, author of Voice’s Daughter of a Heart Yet To Be Born
“Felicia Rice is one of the most exemplary book artists in the United States. Her collaborations with Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Enrique Chagoya have transcended every tradition and formal expectation that we have concerning the book as a work of art. Her new collaboration with Gómez-Peña, Doc/Undoc, is a brilliant exposition of the best of two worlds—art and political action.”—Peter Rutledge Koch, The Codex Foundation
“The bleeding flaming heart of this book is a cornucopia of shamanic defenses against racism. It’s a magical toolbox filled with implements to use for safe border crossings, a prayerbook for the deconstruction of oppressive stereotypes, and a guide for the creation of liberated identities and revolutionary entities. This is not a book to be just read, it’s a book to be performed, enacted and realized.”—Marshall Weber, Artist/Curator at Booklyn
“An interactive experience that ignites dialogues, performances and workshops addressing race and identity across generations. When installed in our gallery, alongside Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s video performance, the collaborative book came alive fully deployed in serpentine fashion offering innovative insight into complex issues.”—Shelby Graham, Director/Curator Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at UC Santa Cruz
DOC/UNDOC 