Various Artists (contributors to issue #3 include Aftograf, Enrico Baj, John Battan, William Bryant, Dick Higgins, Joseph Kosuth, Ronnie Landfield, Roland Penrose, Man Ray, H. C. Westermann, Hannah Weiner, and Terry Riley)
published by William N. Copley
S.M.S. #3 (Deluxe Edition)
INV-2451
Various Artists (contributors to issue #3 include Aftograf, Enrico Baj, John Battan, William Bryant, Dick Higgins, Joseph Kosuth, Ronnie Landfield, Roland Penrose, Man Ray, H. C. Westermann, Hannah Weiner, and Terry Riley)
published by William N. CopleyNew York: Letter Edged in Black Press, June 1968
photographphotography
Date
New York: Letter Edged in Black Press, June 1968
Medium
Mixed media
Dimensions
Installation dimensions variable
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Jennifer Levine and Jeff Aeder
The Letter Edged in Black Press produced six issues of a journal called SMS (Shit Must Stop) from February to December 1968. Founded by artists William N. Copley and Dmitri Petrov, the journal was not bound like a traditional magazine but rather took the form of a folder containing individual contributions from more than 70 artists. Each issue of the journal featured items of varying media and formats, including prints, diminutive multimedia works, and sculptures produced in small editions. Employing the postal system as an alternative exhibition format, the series expresses the artists’ desire to share their ideas in novel, frugal, and accessible ways—a playful jab at the restrictive criteria of museums and “high art.”
The Art Institute’s complete set is one of 100 copies of the deluxe version, in which nearly every contribution is signed by its creator. The issues feature pieces by well-known artists like Marcel Duchamp, Ray Johnson, On Kawara, Yoko Ono, Roy Lichtenstein, and Lil Picard, as well as a multitude of unusual, interactive objects including audio recordings, a booklet about bathrooms in art galleries, a folded hat, luggage stickers, a phenakistoscope with instructions for use, and poetry. An unreleased special seventh edition was in the works, with an intended contribution from Dorothy Iannone, now also part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.
SMS (Shit Must Stop) , no. 3, 1968
Cover by John Battan (American, 1943–1976)
Aftograf (Russian, 20th century), Poems
Enrico Baj (Italian, 1924–2003), Glove
William Bryant (American, b. 1946), Clouds
Dick Higgins (American, 1938–1998), O de tes London
Joseph Kosuth (American, b. 1945), Four Titled Abstracts
Ronnie Landfield (American, b. 1947), Two Drawings
Roland Penrose (English, 1900–1984), Bush in Hand
Man Ray (American, 1890–1976), Mona Lisa’s Father
H. C. Westermann (American, 1922–1981), Correspondence
Hannah Weiner (American, 1928–1997), Signal Flag Poems
Terry Riley (American, b. 1935), Poppy Nogoods All Night Flight (The First Ascent)
Also notable
Works in the same vein
