LeWitt, Sol Black with white lines, vertical,... Lot n° 42

LeWitt, Sol Black with white lines, vertical, not touching. 1970. lithograph on strong paper. 43 x 59,5 cm (43 x 59,5 cm). Signed, numbered and with copyright stamp on verso. - Verso with traces of previous mounting and very light traces of studio. Good condition. Accurate, high-contrast print. Kunsthalle Basel/ Kornfeld Cie, L 3. Here incorrectly stated with an edition of 50 copies. - Krakow, 197007. - One of 150 copies. - From the portfolio "CONSPIRACY: the Artist as Witness".- Ed. Chicago 7, Chicago. - Printed at Bank Street Atelier, New York (stamp on verso). - From the portfolio "CONSPIRACY: the Artist as Witness", the proceeds of which were collected as donations for the benefit of the so-called Chicago 8, a group of 8 American activists who had participated in anti-Vietnam protests in 1968. They were arrested for conspiracy and incitement and indicted by the Attorney General under the direction of Richard Nixon. The trial attracted a great deal of attention and mobilized the anti-Vietnam and peace movements. 5 of the 8 defendants, while not convicted of conspiracy, were convicted of sedition, and 1 African American Black Panther Party activist was sentenced to prison. In 1972, however, the sentences were overturned as the Watergate affair began. The case vividly illustrates structural discrimination, prevalent police violence, and the judge's strong bias in the proceedings. In the same year - 1968- Bobby Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy, acting Attorney General and candidate for the office of U.S. President is shot - another hopeful is assassinated (like his brother before). At the same time, the U.S. is deep in the ongoing war in Vietnam, and while the death toll rises to 30,000, the average age of soldiers drops to 23. Sol LeWitt processes this socio-political upheaval year in his work with a gap of 3 years, the work strongly driven by contrasts shows the camp formation in America - the addition in the title "not touching" seems almost like a request for peace in this time escalating with violence. Lithograph on strong paper. Signed, numbered and with copyright stamp and the "BSA" stamp on verso. - Verso with traces of the previous mounting and very light traces of varnish. Good condition. Accurate, high-contrast print. - One of 150 copies. - Published by Chicago 7, Chicago. - Print by Bank Street Studio, New York. American Modernism - Minimalism