Starting with a focus on the 'Pictures' artists - and an affinity with the world of TV, film, and popular culture - the magazine charted the rise of the postmodernism and postfeminist debates before moving into more political issues, from institutional critique and hypertext to AIDS and the civil war in El Salvador.

As the 1980s unraveled, and priorities and interests shifted in the art world, the magazine remained a forum for artists' opinions, providing exposure for those overlooked by the mainstream, and introducing the work of a new generation of practitioners.

The wide range of featured artists included Sherrie Levine, Félix González-Torres, Mike Kelley, Dan Graham, Louise Lawler, Joseph Nechvatal, Matt Mullican,[6] Jeff Wall, David Hammons and Critical Art Ensemble, among others.

Curated by Kate Fowle, the show looked at the 80s decade through the lens of this publication and its roster of contributors, including Richard Baim, Eric Bogosian, Glenn Branca, Critical Art Ensemble, Jamie Davidovich, Jessica Diamond, Mark Dion and Jason Simon, Jack Goldstein, Kim Gordon, Group Material, Hammons, Michael Hurson, Ray Johnson, Kelley, Barbara Kruger, Lawler, Levine, Sol LeWitt, Robert Longo, Ken Lum, Allan McCollum, Paul McMahon, Mullican, Adrian Piper, Richard Prince, David Robbins, Cindy Sherman, Michael Smith and James Welling.

With an introduction by Matthew Higgs, the anthology features writings and projects by Doug Ashford, Jo Baer and Bruce Robbins, Judith Barry, Dara Birnbaum, Joseph Bishop, Bogosian, Jennifer Bolande, Derek Boshier, Jim Bradley, Elsa Bulgari, Rhys Chatham, Dion, Spencer Finch, González-Torres, Gordon, Graham, Group Material, B.P.