very rare signed MARCEL DUCHAMP 1968 S.M.S. #2 CONTREPETRIE RECORD sms copley B

Description: Up for bid is an extraordinary opportunity to purchase a very rare signed copy of a MARCEL DUCHAMP multiple 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. The Marcel Duchamp contribution comes from the #2 portfolio, and consisted as a seven minute vinyl phonograph record entitled CONTREPETRIE... a word play involving transposing words, letters, and syllables and their sounds to make puns and effect new meanings. As issued, the vinyl record was attached to the Duchamp designed white portfolio cover with a small black machine screw/nut. This particular signed item is not the vinyl record itself... it is the die-cut embossed adhesive label that was to be affixed to the vinyl record. The original edition size for the SMS multiples was 2000 unsigned copies. There was also a deluxe version of 100, in which almost all 73 artists signed their contributions. Examples from the deluxe signed version are extremely rare. Unfortunately, Duchamp passed away in October 1968, and did not officially sign the deluxe portfolios. However, he did sign a few of the full sheet gripper pages, and a few of these die-cut record labels. Only a handful of these signed prints existed. This die-cut label measures 6.5" in diameter and is in excellent condition. The peel off wax paper backing paper is still affixed and like new. It includes the original wax paper sleeve which also shows traces of the original printing embossing. It is initialed and dated by the artist in white ink, and most likely signed by the artist during the post production phase of the #2 SMS portfolio (Spring 1968). It was clearly one of the very last artworks that he signed before passing away, and guaranteed to be authentic. Please note, I am also listing one of the gripper page prints that Duchamp signed/dated in black ink. Contact me if you have any further questions about these very special signed works. See my other auctions for a few more of the very rare signed SMS pieces, as well as my remaining inventory for many of the unsigned works from the edition of 2000. This item will be packed flat and ships for free via Fedex to all domestic locations. All foreign locations will ship via USPS Priority International. "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: 6000 USD

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

End Time: 2025-01-28T07:38:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD