Sofía López King's book "Artes de hacer" (Arts of Making) was declared of municipal interest for highlighting the city's craft arts.
In an event held on September 23 at the Vasallo Palace, the book "Arts of Making" by the Bachelor of Social Communication of the University of Valencia was declared of municipal interest. Universidad Nacional de Rosario Sofía López King, based on a proposal from Councilwoman Verónica Irizar. This logbook of knowledge was presented last year in Rosario and subsequently visited other cities, including Paris, London, Andorra, Madrid, and Barcelona.
Kneading bread, Mexican embroidery, molding clay, cultivating the land, making a book, transforming wood, and reinventing alchemy are the different chapters in which these particular universes, handmade in the city, unfold. Each one is an invitation to make things and also to inhabit the space-time that opens up from that making.
The author explains that she wanted to highlight the artisanal arts, which in this era of mass production and social media are less recognized. The publication aims to take them out of the intimacy of the workshop, show the rituals, techniques, and materials, and share anecdotes from those who dedicate themselves to them. To achieve this, she used not only texts but also photos that reveal every detail of the creative process.
What makes a handmade product special and differentiates it from any other is that “the soul is left in each manual work,” says Sofía and recalls Lujan Cambariere's concept in “The soul of objects.” In this sense, she considers that the book he made is also a part of him that he gives to the person who wants to receive it.
The communicator says the idea was born in 2019 during an elective course in her bachelor's degree called "Reading and Writing Workshop," taught by Andrea Calamari and Clara López Verrilli. The goal upon completion of the course was to produce her own book. In this academic space, some questions surrounding books are demystified, such as whether they should be long, full of text, or in black and white.
Students could make a collage book, with photos or a fanzine. That's where the idea arose of doing something about manual trades that are developing in the city. In that choice, Michael de Certeau's concept in “The Invention of the Everyday” came into play. Arts of making”, an author who spanned Sofía's entire career at the Public University.
“These arts of making are those smaller or insignificant things that seem to have no importance and the idea was to highlight them, to take them out of the intimacy of the workshop to show them,” he explains. This is how he began connecting with different people from Rosario who did manual arts. One took her to the other, as if by chance, she interviewed them and took many photos.
First he came to Nicolás Manzi and artisanal bookbinding, then he spoke with Javier Gamarino who came from a family of bakers and had the tradition of the trade. She complemented that interview with Marcelo Núñez, a baker currently active. Then she met Ailen Martín and his Mexican embroidery, the ceramist Fabiana Sacnun in her pottery workshop, and Florencia Neffen who showed her how to cultivate the land in the community garden that she coordinates.
Later it was the time of Carlos Ducler and his handmade wooden jewelry who claims to be a “bridger of worlds” with his creations. In the end, “Reinventing alchemy” summarizes all the work done by Manuela Teidons, who creates cosmetics from plants, so she analyzes their properties and combines them. Each of these people and their actions make up a chapter whose title is a verb that is associated with movement.
In this way, the book shows “doing in motion” with texts and photos, something that Chiqui González highlights in the prologue: “More than a book to be looked at, it becomes a way of looking. A book-object that seeks to make the reader fall in love from beginning to end: the textures of the paper speak, the photographs present metaphorical and poetic scenes: they do not illustrate, they excite. The texts do not explain, they put us in motion. The author has resorted to writings in multiple languages to make a polysemic, plural book that folds and unfolds with our imagination. A book of verbal, poetic and political construction.”
In the process of making this book, Sofía realized that she, too, had her own unique "art of making," given that she had to combine many aspects: conducting interviews, taking photos, collating information, laying out the entire production, and making decisions regarding design and typography. "Every step of the way to make the book—from printing to proofreading to seeing how the colors turn out, to deciding whether it should be sewn so it opens better—was all a great learning experience."
One thing she found valuable was including handwritten text in the book. “Being able to inhabit the artisanal time I saw in the interviewees made me think a lot, and I was able to experience it firsthand,” she reflects. Writing in manuscript took a considerable amount of time and dedication. “You become absorbed while doing it, so I saw myself reflected in what I had already compiled.”
This project became López King's thesis, based on his professor's suggestion. It evolved from the original idea in terms of aesthetics and design, as well as the inclusion of handwriting and cover illustrations. "The creative process isn't linear, but rather has many ups and downs," he emphasizes.
There was a moment when he let the project rest, dedicated himself to other things and returned to it. He believes that these breaks are also necessary to be able to look at it in a different way. In the end, she ended up receiving a degree in Social Communication with three of these chapters completed.
In 2023, she won the Creative Industries Promotion Award from the Ministry of Culture and Education of the Province of Santa Fe, which helped her complete the printing of the book. "It's a great satisfaction to see it materialize after so much time," she says, emphasizing that this process led her to many people who opened the doors of their workshop, selflessly shared their time and knowledge, and left their mark. "I was going to do an interview and they gave me a gift, one of their creations, something I didn't expect," she confesses.
After staring at the pages alone for so long on her screen, her anticipation now shifts to "what her journey will be like when people read it and how it will impact them." She says this book is "tailored to each person," that she can start it wherever she wants, turn it over, manipulate it, and even see what ideas it sparks in her to begin "her own art of making."
More information about the book on Instagram: @artes.dehacer.
Journalist: Victoria Arrabal/Photographer: Silvio Moriconi