Combine Studios, the site of ASU’s International Art Museum Artist Residency Program, is now the temporary home of Libreria Donceles, Phoenix’s only used Spanish-language bookstore.
Libreria Donceles has a collection of around 12,000 donated books gathered from volunteers by artist Pablo Helguera in exchange for pieces of art. Donations came from individuals and groups from Mexico City and other parts of the United States and Mexico.
The books at Libreria Donceles are written in Spanish by Spanish-speaking authors. The selection differs greatly compared to translated works found in English-language bookstores, said the exhibit curator Julio Cesar Morales.
“What makes the difference is that about 90 percent of the books are original Spanish works and the other 10 percent are translations,” Morales said.
Helguera found inspiration for Libreria Donceles along Donceles Street in Mexico City. The street is renowned for its old bookstores.
The New York-based artist has had work featured in galleries all along the east coast. Libreria Donceles marks Helguera’s first foray into the southwestern gallery scene.
Helguera debuted Libreria Donceles in New York City in September 2013. Morales assisted Helguera in transplanting the bookstore from its first home to Arizona.
The bookstore was originally slated to appear at the ASU Art Museum Brickyard Gallery in Tempe, but after Helguera visited the site he requested a smaller, more intimate location for his exhibition.
“The gallery in Phoenix is just a few blocks away from a very large Spanish-speaking neighborhood,” said ASU Art Museum director Gordon Knox.
“The physical size and geographic location was ideal and of course we work very hard to support the artist’s vision,” Knox said.
Knox and Helguera’s goal is to illustrate the power of artistic communication and instill a sense of community pride among Spanish-speakers.
“Spanish-speakers in Phoenix can … recognize that (they) are a part of a powerful intellectual and cultural history that goes back centuries before Arizona was ever part of the United States,” Knox said.
Both Spanish-speakers and non-Spanish speakers alike are encouraged to visit and speak with the artist or an associate, then fill out a form to determine their “bibliological profile.”
Based on visitors’ bibliological profiles, a bookstore associate will aid them in finding the perfect book or put them on the path to finding one themselves.
Libreria Donceles has all the hallmarks of a typical bookstore as far as subjects go — but with a few exceptions.
Nestled between handwritten labels for all the usual topics — art, poetry, history, etc. — there are a few subjects created by Helguera that are a bit more obscure. Boring books, books with beautiful covers and books on dense or difficult-to-understand topics are just a few of Helguera’s classifications.
Among the stuffed shelves and brightly painted yellow walls are framed photos of book donors and frames displaying items found inside the books.
In using a book collection as an art medium, museum residency program director Greg Esser hopes viewers will see how art can not only be a visual expression, but a linguistic one as well.
“It’s a different experience than looking at a Goya painting or a Picasso painting where language plays less of a deciding role,” Esser said. “(Libreria Donceles) underscores the important role language plays in culture.”
Knox and Morales encourage those who do not speak Spanish to visit the bookstore even if they do not understand the words. They said they believe non-Spanish speakers can find a deeper meaning by simply appreciating that there is knowledge out there that they cannot understand.
“The very core intention of the piece is to recognize the world of the other,” Knox said. “The idea is to have the physical experience of the thought and history of knowledge in a language and culture that’s not yours.”
Morales said he is looking forward to expanding Libreria Donceles’s community involvement by hosting spoken-word performances, book clubs, political community organizing meetings and immigrant rights groups.
While admission into the gallery is free, visitors may make a donation of whatever sum they like and in exchange can take home one book. Proceeds will be donated to the Phoenix Public Library Foundation.
Libreria Donceles will remain in Combine Studios — located on the corner of Third and Garfield streets — until June 28.
Contact the reporter at Alicia.M.Clark@asu.edu
