S.M.S. issue #1 (Deluxe Edition)
New York: Letter Edged in Black Press, February 1968
Various Artists (contributors to issue #1 include Su Braden, James Byars, Christo, Walter de Maria, Richard Hamilton, Julien Levy, Kasper König, Sol Mednick, Irving Petlin, Nancy Reitkopf, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela) published by William N. Copley
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. 1, 1968
Cover by Irving Petlin (American, 1934–2018), entitled Little Box of Earthquake and Cotton
Su Braden (British, born 1940), Project for a Bridge
James Byars (American, 1932–1997), Black Dress
Christo (American, born Bulgaria, 1935–2020), Storefront
Walter de Maria (American, born 1935), Chicago Project
Richard Hamilton (English, 1922–2011), A Postal Card for Mother
Julien Levy (American, 1906–1981), Pharmaceuticals
Kasper König (German, born 1943), My Country Tis’ Of Thee West Germany 1968 (4 Views)
Sol Mednick (American, 1916–1970), Photograph Hottentot Apron
Nancy Reitkopf (American, born 1938), Luggage Labels
La Monte Young (American, born 1935) and Marian Zazeela (American, 1940–2024), Two Propositions in Black
Mixed media