S.M.S.(Shit Must Stop), 1 by William Copley and Dmitri Petrov

S.M.S.(Shit Must Stop), was a 6-issue art journal published by William Copley and Dmitri Petrov's Letter Edged in Black Press. Copley and Petrov included works by some of the most important artists of the time, who were paid just $100 for their contributions. Copley gave them free reign to create an artwork in any medium they wished, which he then then reproduced in an edition of 2000. The journal ran for just 6 issues. S. M. S. #1 Colophon Loose Leaf – 1968 Irving Petlin: Little Box of Earthquake and Cotton, Cover Design, Colored Ink on Heavy Paper, 11 x 14 inches Su Braden: Project for a Bridge, Ink on folded vellum, 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches James Lee Byars: Black Dress, Printed photograph on tissue envelope, containing Black Tissue Dress, 10 x 10 inches Christo: Store Front, Mylar and Board construction, 10 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches Walter de Maria: Chicago Project, Sketches, photograph, and correspondence, 12 x 9 inches Richard Hamilton: A Postal Card for Mother, Accordion folded photographs, 5 x 8 inches (variable) Kaspar Koening: My Country ‘Tis of Thee: West Germany, 1968 (four views), Four photographs with hand drawn accents, paper envelope, 6 x 6 inches Julien Levy: Pharmaceuticals, Prescription pad and empty pill casings, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches Sol Mednick: Hottentot Apron, printed photograph on paper, 20 x 27 1/2 inches Nancy Reitkopf: Luggage Labels, six stickers, 8 x 5 1/4 inches Variable La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela: Two Propositions in Black, calligraphic notes on folded paper, 10 x 24 inches S. M. S. #1, Notes: This first edition of S. M. S. contains eleven different projects from important conceptual artists and theorists working at the time. The packet’s small size determined the scale of the work, and allowed for the contributing artists to work both within and out of their comfort zone. Christo, who is most famous for his large environmental collaborations with his wife Jean-Claude, scaled down his practice in order to create a small sized two-dimensional diorama. Similarly, art critic Julian Levy contributed a list of prescriptions for faux medications, capsules included, for artists he determined in need of treatment. Both of these submissions allow for the artist’s voice to shine through, while still maintaining the integrity of Copley’s project. Unlike the following volumes of S. M. S., this first edition reads more like a journal or publication due to the mostly flat nature of the submissions. The following issues seem even more interactive, including games and toys, instead of purely visual stimuli.