ISSUE #9
UNPRECEDENTED FLURRY:::Samual Weinberg
by Sean Smuda
There is a mainstreamness to Pop and sports, but what is mainstream to Art? Here the vulnerability of the individual melts into communal touch points of history. If this is what made Justin Timberlake’s performance at the Superbowl (and perhaps his entire career) so bad, then is Pop-as-expression always an assimilating, opportunistic, oxymoron? Not so with Sam W.’s work. In his coke (not Pepsi)’d-up anxiety Pink Man quivers within and against the realm of too much joy and its stylized reproductions. The show title itself would seem to refer not just to its multifarious scattered, hurrying works, but also to the self as an activity of selves as others. And if its products are eager, gleaming, and shiny on the surface, their design and lines are boundaries of opposition. The ubiquity of Pink Man runs rampant on and off the image plane and is propelled by more than algorithmic market forces. If ridiculous money in a post-Mickey Mouse Club Manchurian Candidate world is our market game shared memory, then what’s good, what’s real, and what’s true? With immanence beyond media-echo, Unprecedented Flurry points at this in its “art is to brute force and strategy, as sports is to differencing and reflection”.
We take you now to this game.
“Carl, the Pink Man reminds me of Justin Timberlake with his smooove T-Rex dentals, and pixel brick head. Also like the Big Game itself, he’s half-fun and half-battle: Pool Fights!”
“I hate to harp on Kumbaya moments trying to replace a dead Prince at half-time Bob, I mean we’re all individuals here, so let’s talk paint.”
“That’s right Carl, there is a wide and exciting variety of application, smooth and transparent -like skin, with cruder impasto in earlier plays. Fractal-ish, cube-ish, prisimist, the boy got game.”
“Yeah Bob, like JT, he’s an output with a thousand faces and sometimes they get stuck in the paper shredder, cross-hatched, and bumped up.”
“That’s right Carl, that’s nolongerpaint, that’s surface interruptus!”
“Bob, that gnarly tooth dislodged and glittered gold from the boxing tableau is a real pimp pimped mic drop of painterly illusion and assemblage.”
“Way more than the Dodge MLK, Carl. And like Real reality, it multi-platforms into videos/‘zine/catalog. There is no fixity like anxiety!”
“Bob, transparency, shadow, and space aren’t the only self vs. self-spectacles. The work glides effortlessly into sketch comedy and soap opera too: thus twerked T-Rex!”
“Again like JT, Carl! Cartoon colors; photo collage; face-on-face-faces; eyeballs pinball psyches that never knew what hit ‘em.”
“Before we get into nascent gender performativity and Nirvana’s All Apologies on glöckenspiel, Bob, it might be time to talk about this flashlight-eyeballed entertainer-fighter whose love is a battlefield.”
“Pink baby, pink man, Carl! That’s what we got; there’s something deep in his gene fight flight pool that big bangs positionality almost beyond Man, like silly putty to every corner of the universe.”
“It’s a healthy fight Bob, dicing identity with upper cuts into blood-on-the-animus-canvas –a real mission to Mars where sometimes a head is just a head. Can our guest artists Phil G. and G. Tooker weigh in?”
Silence. eternal, pregnant, uncomfortable
“‘Nuff said, History, Carl! Can’t live with it… and I hafta add that paranoia, conformity, and existential crises are all part of the game. But when we create Time, we acknowledge the other’s space, crawling, punchy, or stroking as it may be. If we know our own, it’s half the conversation. The work’s repetition, plethora of styles, and monomania all give ‘em shout outs.”
“Bob, I overheard someone mention the Simpsons where Homer is also a superhero on some Japanese packaging, leading to identity crisis and deep angst.”
“Is there any other kind, Carl?”
“Good point, Bob. What about the mystery of the hand?”
“Well, who-what do you think made all of this!”
“So is what we have here the ultimate split-personality half time show of Pink Man trumping White Man’s Purpling, or what?”
“Definitely Bob.”
Sean Smuda is a plenipotentiary photographer and runs
Pirsig Projects/Biennale Beinalley. He has professionally photographed Mr. Timberlake twice.
Notes on The Pink Man Files: Volume 3
By Lucia Weilein
A designer’s work is invisible. Ours is a peculiar craft that way—it’s not typically meant to be seen, but rather seen through. We guide your consumption of content without you recognizing our hand. You don’t see the words, for example, but rather follow the story they tell.
So when design itself becomes part of—or, in this case, essential to—a narrative, the result is a truly unique, immersive experience that transcends the traditional book. The Pink Man Files: Volume 3 blurs the line between artist’s book and anthology, zine and dissertation, encyclopedia and fiction—a harmonious blend of visual art, creative writing, and graphic design.
The book functions as a compendium, an organized collection of specific pop culture fragments that all point to the existence of the Pink Man in the real world. Nine distinct sections serve as evidence to this claim, brought to life by Samual Weinberg’s visuals and Andy Sturdevant’s stories. Each chapter references a bibliographical entry of a different (fictional) source, and as such, each has a completely unique look and feel.
The layout of each section is a carefully-considered, allusive amalgamation of past design trends appropriate for the entry’s genre and publication date. The goal was to make each chapter as convincing as possible, with every element on the page contributing to the illusion. From the margins to the page numbers, and most importantly, the treatment of the typography, no detail is spared.
Typographic references range from print-inspired faces like Utopia—whose tall x-height and marked stroke contrast are reminiscent of early twentieth century newspaper types—to a sampling of “web-safe fonts” like Georgia. Two of Apple’s pet typefaces, Myriad and Garamond Condensed, make an appearance, as does Akzidenz Grotesk, a lesser-known ancestor of Helvetica.
Varying paper types also reinforce the illusion of authenticity and add a layer of tactile believability. Light gray felt-weave simulates toothy newsprint for the comic strips; smooth, shiny gloss is reminiscent of a textbook or a coated comic book cover. Even the super-saturated divider pages, with their silken “skin” texture, bring to mind the complexion of a Pink Man.
With every detail working together, The Pink Man Files: Volume 3 is an artist’s book as eclectic and captivating as Samual Weinberg’s oeuvre.
Colophon
Typefaces: Akzidenz Grotesk, Garamond Premier Pro, Futura Std, ITC Bookman, Knockout, Adobe Jenson Pro, Helvetica Neue, Georgia, Times New Roman, ITC Garamond Condensed, Myriad Pro, Utopia Std, Freight Sans Pro, Mrs. Eaves, Depot New
Paper
Main Text | 80T Cougar Smooth, White
Dividers | 91T Mohawk Curious Skin Smooth, Pink
Sections III & VII | 80T Euro Gloss, Bright White
Section VI | 80T Mohawk Via Felt, Light Gray
Cover | 80C Astrobrights Smooth, Pulsar Pink with gold foil
Printed, bound, and foil stamped in Minneapolis
Lucia Weilein is an art director, graphic designer, and bona fide typography nerd based in Minneapolis.
FINAL EXAM Poolfighting referee certification training
By Andy Sturdevant
Uniformity in actions, responsibilities, duties and performance of pool fighting officials must be attained, leading to quality control for each pool fight. This written test is to be administered before the final certification of all poolside officials, and to establish minimum standards and define the criteria to be followed during pool fighting matches throughout the pool fighting circuit.
The integrity of our entire pool fight experiment starts with excellent, quality, knowledgeable and dedicated poolside officials. Thank you for your interest, and best of lock to you.
Oscar LaGator, Jr.
Vice President
Association of Poolfighting Commissions;
Chairman
APC Training & Education Committee
Note that in this section you will have a choice in the questions you’ll be answering. On this sheet, please circle the identifications or questions that you will be responding to, and answer them in an orderly, well-labeled fashion on separate, loose sheets of paper. Please put your name on every sheet. The exam is based on a 64-point scale. Partial credit will be given for partial answers.
Short Answer (8 points each): Answer 8 of 11. Make sure to fully answer each question, and remember to use specific evidence to support your answers. These should take at least a paragraph to answer sufficiently.
• Describe the symptoms of “jiggle face,” as it appears on a fighter who has been struck in a bout.
• Name three of the six key features used to distinguish between a legitimate “one crying eye” tattoo applied in a correctional facility, and an illegitimate or “knock-off” tattoo applied by a licensed tattoo professional.
• Why is it important to the legitimacy of the poolfighting ethos that “one crying eye” tattoos be applied by unlicensed nonprofessionals?
• List up to three of the four questions you are required to ask a fighter who appears lost, confused or lethargic once he has returned to his corner of the pool.
• Which maxillary and mandibular teeth are most likely to be lost over the course of a bout? Identify them both by number (#1-50) and name (incisors, canines, premolars, etc.). BONUS QUESTION: Identify the monetary value of each on the secondary market.
• Outline at least two strategies for managing spectators following the completion of a bout, with specific emphasis on limiting tooth collection. Draw a diagram of the pool area if necessary to indicate movements and direction of officials and spectators.
• Describe the protocol for a situation in which a police officer enters the pool area uninvited.
• What is a goot weight range for a fighter to fall within during the weight-in? What is the threshold at which a fighter’s weight may be upgraded from “goot” to “vary goot”?
• Are poolfights best staged adjacent to the 3 feet, 6 feet or 12 feet sections of the pool?
• Outline your strategy for distinguishing between “unsportsmanlike conduct” (grounds for forfeiture) and “pink boys will be pink boys” behavior (encouraged and sanctioned by the APC) during a poolfight.
• Diagram the position of all contestants and officials during the Coming of Age ceremony following the bout.
When have completed your test, return it to the proctor. Your results will be scored and you will notified of the status of your application by mail in 4-6 weeks.
Andy Sturdevant lives down the street. He is not authorized by any governing body to referee combat sports, but he is able to officiate weddings.
Luke Holden’s animated short film coming soon.