The Letter Edged In Black Press Inc.

The Letter Edged in Black Press Inc. was the publisher of the 6 S.M.S. portfolios released over the course of 1968. Initiated by American Surrealist William Copley, S.M.S. (an abbreviation for "Shit Must Stop") was a collective experience based around a loft on Manhattan's Upper West Side. In addition to providing a place for artists to work, S.M.S. published a series of artists' multiples sold by subscription direct to art collectors. The artists represented ranged from the very well known to the obscure and included Christo, Walter de Maria, Julian Levy, La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela, James Lee Byars, Marcel Duchamp, Bruce Conner, Meret Oppenheim, Ray Johnson, Nicolas Calas, H.C. Westermann, Hannah Weiner, Joseph Kosuth, Roland Penrose, Man Ray, Terry Riley, Dick Higgins, Enrico Baj, Roy Lichtenstein, Arman, John Cage, On Kawara, Robert Watts, Hollis Frampton, Yoko Ono, Mel Ramos, Lawrence Weiner, Angus MacLise, Bruce Nauman, Dian Wakoski, Richard Artschwager, John Giorno, Diter Rot, Claes Oldenburg, and many other, effectively covers many areas of art. Among the 73 individual works, 6 involved sound in the form of phonograph records or magnetic tape, while the majority were visual or written works. Meticulously reproduced, each item was a distinctive artistic work giving each issue a widely varying character. Some more notable includes were Lil Picard's individual hand burned bow ties and the kits to create works included by Yoko Ono and Arman. Only Diter Rot's concept for a sculptural chocolate bar seemed to be beyond the means of The Letter Edged in Black Press' ability be to reproduced.