Peter Blake
William S. Burroughs
John Cage
Ossie Clark
Marcel Duchamp
David Hockney
John Lennon
Lou Reed
Yoko Ono
Andy Warhol
David Dalton
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Morris
Nayia Yiakoumaki
The cult 1960s magazine Aspen featured contributions by prolific artists, musicians and writers including Peter Blake, William S. Burroughs, John Cage, Ossie Clark, Marcel Duchamp, David Hockney, John Lennon, Lou Reed and Yoko Ono.
The display is curated by Nayia Yiakoumaki, Archive Curator
The Whitechapel Gallery presents the first major exhibition dedicated to
Aspen, the influential 1960s magazine. Aspen featured contributions by
prolific artists, musicians and writers including Peter Blake, William S.
Burroughs, John Cage, Ossie Clark, Marcel Duchamp, David Hockney, John
Lennon, Lou Reed and Yoko Ono. Few magazines remain and the
Whitechapel Gallery will display all ten in the series of rarely seen editions.
Issued in a box, Aspen was the first multi-media magazine and became a
time capsule of the period. Contributions included a Pop Art detergent box
cover by Andy Warhol and David Dalton, a diary by John Lennon and a sewing
pattern by Ossie Clark. Each distinctive issue had a different editor and
designer who took complete control of the magazine. Aspen included
posters, booklets, reels of Super 8 film, flexi discs, original artworks and
phonographic recordings.
Highlights include Andy Warhol and David Dalton’s Pop Art issue devoted to
the New York art scene. A special British issue was created which
contained British knickers, a sewing pattern by Ossie Clark, souvenirs found
by Peter Blake and The Lennon Diary 1969, a diary of the future written by
John Lennon in 1968. Other highlights include concrete poetry by Ian
Hamilton Finlay, films by Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Morris and
phonographic recordings by Yoko Ono and John Lennon.
A conceptual issue, edited and designed by David Dalton and Brian
O’Doherty, featured essays by Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag , a work by
Mel Bochner and a range of spoken word recordings by William S. Burroughs,
Merce Cunningham, Marcel Duchamp and Naum Gabo. A psychedelic issue
was edited by Angus MacLise, the original drummer from the Velvet
Underground, and Hetty MacLise and included stamps of nude psychedelic
portraits and postcards by Ira Cohen.
Aspen was conceived by Phyllis Johnson, a former editor for Women’s Wear
Daily and Advertising Age, in New York and was inspired by Aspen, Colorado,
a popular ski resort in the 1960s. While the first issue started with subject
matter closely linked to the resort, it evolved into a document which
captured the major artistic movements of the time.
The final issue of Aspen was published in 1971and despite the short period
in which it was published, the magazine paved the way for the future of art
publishing with its ground breaking format. Alongside Aspen, a range of
artist magazines from the 1960s to the present day will be shown. The
exhibition is part of the Whitechapel Gallery’s dedicated programme looking
into archives of individual artists or institutions.
Aspen Magazine was first published in 1965. 10 issues were created
at irregular periods and due to difficulty securing advertising and
increased postal costs for the unusual format, the final issue was
published in 1971.
Issues will be lent from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London,
Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), the Irish Museum
of Modern Art (IMMA) and The Special Collections at Chelsea College
of Art & Design Library.
Press Information
For further press information please contact:
Alex O’Neill on 020 7539 3360 or email alexoneill@whitechapelgallery.org
Whitechapel Gallery
77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm, Thursdays, 11am – 9pm.
Admission free.