MARCEL DUCHAMP 1968 S.M.S. #2 COLOPHON ESKIMO TONGUE DEPRESSOR lichtenstein sms

Description: Up for bid is a very nice MARCEL DUCHAMP multiple that served as the colophon for the #2 portfolio from the legendary 1968 subscription based art journal S.M.S. (Shit Must Stop). Please see below for more information about these six very collectible S.M.S. portfolios. Along with the CONTREPETRIE phonograph record that Duchamp designed for the SMS #2 portfolio cover, he also designed the colophon, which consists of a printed business envelope with notes on the Contrepetrie recording on one side, and the list of all artists in the portfolio on the other. Inside the envelope, Duchamp has inserted a wooden "tongue depressor" with the printed word eskimo... a reference to the text found on the phonograph itself. ESQUIVONS LES ECCHYMOSES DES ESQUIMAUX AUX MOTS EXQUIS, which roughly translates to "dodge the Eskimo bruises with exquisite words," and functions as a sort of French tongue twister. The envelope shows light staining from the wooden stick, and the paper clip from the Herscovitz multiple as shown, otherwise very good original condition. The envelope measures 4.125"x 9.5"; stick measures 4.5"x 0.375". I will eventually be listing all 73 art works from the 6 different portfolios. If you are interested in any particular piece, portfolio cover, or original shipping box, do not hesitate to contact me with questions or offers. Please note all images with a white background are taken by me and represent the actual piece that you are buying. Any photography with a black background are images that have been taken from the internet. This item will be packed very well and shipped via USPS priority mail, and I am happy to combine shipping for multiple purchases. All overseas buyers should contact for an accurate shipping quote (the ebay calculator is not always accurate) "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. The six issues of S.M.S. are composed of “original reproductions”—luxurious, exacting replicas of each artist’s work in an edition of approximately 2,000. The magazine spared no expense, seeking out, and even inventing, varied and obscure production methods including Lil Picard’s labor intensive Burned Bow Tie—each of which needed to be individually singed. The enormous edition size—and the affordable price of $125 per subscription—enabled a much broader swath of the public to collect the internationally recognized artists contained in the portfolios. Ultimately short-lived, S.M.S. portfolios were mailed bi-monthly between February and December of 1968 directly to subscribers, with each portfolio containing approximately a dozen works of art." (quote and any extra photography taken directly from sms.sensatejournal.com)

Price: 350 USD

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

End Time: 2024-12-01T18:55:41.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD