July/August 1970 was a 48-page exhibition organized by Seth Siegelaub within Studio International‘s July/August 1970 issue. Siegelaub gave six critics—David Antin, Germano Celant, Michel Claura, Charles Harrison, Lucy R. Lippard, and Hans Strelow “to each edit an 8-page section of the magazine, and in turn, to make available their section to the artist(s) that interest them.”

The responses from critics ranged from selecting documentation of existing works to requesting new works created specifically for the project. For example, Michel Claura devoted his section to the work of Daniel Buren, who filled the section with his signature stripes in a color that was to be determined by the printer, who chose yellow. Inspired by a Sol LeWitt quote—”The words of one artist to another may induce an idea chain”—Lucy Lippard chose eight artists (including LeWitt) to create a text-based “situation” for another artist to respond to in their work, but then create a new situation for the next artist to respond to, and so on. The section began with Robert Barry, responding to Frederick Barthelme’s situation, “The late arrival of this notification.”

The publication was printed in English, French, and German as part of Siegelaub’s efforts at the time to provide the widest exposure and distribution possible for his book and magazine-based exhibitions.

Artists in July/August 1970 included Keith Arnatt, Terry Atkinson, Giovanni Anselmo, Eleanor Antin, David Bainbridge, John Baldessari, Michael Baldwin, Robert Barry, Frederick Barthelme, Alighiero Boetti, Daniel Buren, Victor Burgin, Paolo Calzolari, Harold Cohen, Hanne Darboven, Jan Dibbets, Barry Flanagan, Dan Graham, Douglas Huebler, Harold Hurrell, Stephen Kaltenbach, On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Fred Lonidier, Roelof Louw, Pier Mario Merz, N.E. Thing Co., George Nicolaidis, Giuseppe Penone, Pistoletto, Emilio Prini, Richard Serra, Keith Sonnier, Lawrence Weiner, and Gilberto Zorio.

Seth Siegelaub (b. 1941–2013) was an American curator, art dealer, and author. Through his gallery, Seth Siegelaub Contemporary Art, and his later curatorial practice, Siegelaub introduced the art world to both a wide array of innovative conceptual artists as well as to radically new ways of exhibiting and distributing art. In 1971, Siegelaub (along with lawyer Robert Projansky) authored “The Artist’s Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement,” a document that was translated into German, French, and Italian. Following his early work in the arts, Siegelaub went on to work as a political researcher, collector, and bibliographer of textiles.

8.33 x 10.78 inches
50 pages
PDF
1970/2017