S.M.S. #6 - Shit Must Stop 1968. Publication containing various ART multiples. In its original mailing box.

This was the last issue of the incredible anti-art-gallery-snobbery published by William Copley & Dmitri Petrov and published by The Letter Edged In Black Press, New York, NY, 1968. First printing.

This boxed portfolio #6 includes the following:

1: Cover box by Richard Artschwager 2: Self Portrait by Ed Bereal 3: Chocolate Bar by Dieter Rot (aka Dieter Roth and Diter Rot) 4: Friends by Betty Dodson 5: Neon Construction by Ronaldo Ferri 6: Ten Xerox Sheets by Toby Mussman 7: Twenty Down by Adrian Nutbeam 8: Unattended Lunches by Claes Oldenburg 9: Junior Historical Theatre Playroom Kit by Mischa Petrow 10: Adora by Jean Reavey 11: Johns in Art Galleries by Paul Steiner 12: Astrophysics by Bernar Venet 13: Chinese Fortune Game by John Giorno.

Condition: All items are present, but several have flaws. Dieter Roth's "Chocolate Bar" consists of four colored 3x4.5 inch "trading cards" (each an artwork). The cards are present but the paper sleeve that held them is lacking. Mischa Petrov's "Junior Historical Theatre Playroom Kit" (a political, multimedia parody of a children's play set) includes: one printed cardboard sheet featuring die-cut, punch-out historical figures; four miniature plastic weapons (tiny pistol, knife, ax, and rifle) enclosed in two small plastic pouches, and one small bag of glitter., The punch out cards and the bag of glitter are present, but the four miniature plastic toy weapons are lacking. Bernar Venet's "Astrophysics" includes a 7" vinyl record. The record is cracked / broken and is therefore unplayable. The box holding the items has some creases and soiling.

Despite the above noted flaws (most notably the cracked record), this is a complete set of the scarce last issue of Shit Must Stop / S.M.S #6.

About S.M.S. - SHIT MUST STOP (from Wikipedia):

******"Founded in New York City by artist, collector and dealer William Copley, S.M.S. was an art collection in a box, filled with small-scale, often whimsical, artworks available by subscription. Delivering art through the post offered Copley, and his collaborator Dmitri Petrov, a way to circumvent the art market and make contemporary art accessible to nearly anyone. Inspired by Copley's mentor and friend Marcel Duchamp's Boîte-en-valise, S.M.S. was conceived as an inter-media and intergenerational publication that would present artworks by prominent and unknown artists side by side. The magazine gathered an impressive range including the Surrealist luminaries Man Ray and Meret Oppenheim, Pop artists Richard Hamilton and Roy Lichtenstein, composers Lamont Young and Terry Riley, and an up-and-coming generation of conceptual and post-studio artists such as Joseph Kosuth and Bruce Nauman. Regardless of stature, each was paid $100 for their contribution. This egalitarian spirit extended to the communal atmosphere of Copley's upper west side Letter Edged in Black Press loft which functioned as an unofficial hangout for many of the participants..******

About S.M.S #6 (from Wikipedia):

******Richard Artschwager's design for the box of S.M.S. #6 is a simple image of a black shape reproduced on each surface of the cover, both inside and out, with reproductions of the exact coffee stains he accidentally made when producing the original. By approving of this accident, and reproducing it for the cover, Artschwager, and Copley seem to be making an argument about the place of beauty and mistake in the contemporary art world. The rest of the pieces in this final issue seem to be playful and mischievous manifestations of this same idea, with Adrian Nutbeem's unsolvable crossword as well as Claes Oldenburg's Unattended Lunches.******