Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life

One of my personal faves from last year.

In case you forgot about my insatiable love for pinball (or Mike Budai, or Brian Holderman, for that matter), well…I love it.

Usually sometime around my birthday, PAPA comes to town. This ends up with me playing pinball and drinking margaritas. Two of my favorite things in life. Well, this year, my birthday comes a little early with Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life at Wildcard in Pittsburgh. Starting this Friday, it’s a great way to kick off the summer pinball season here in the ‘Burgh. Check it out:

Announcing their presence with an explosion of sound, lights, and design, pinball machines are a unique part of pop culture that combine gaming, skill, and art into one colorful package. To celebrate the machine’s presence as both art and an inspiration to artists, Wildcard is proud to present Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life from July 15 to August 21.

Pinball Life is timed to coincide with the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) World Championships (August 11-14), held each year in Scott Township. This group show includes original work from local and national artists and also features vintage backplates of old games (on loan from PAPA).

In addition to the vintage pinball machines at Wildcard and a third on loan, Pinball Life includes the debut of the new Lawrenceville-themed pinball machine, featuring art by local artist Andy Scott. In addition, Wildcard will be hosting its annual Wildcard Pinball Classic on Friday, July 22. The competition will feature four tournaments on four separate machines, as well as a playoff
for a grand prize. Free to enter. In addition, 50% of the proceeds from the show and tournament will go to local bicycle advocacy group Bike Pittsburgh (www.bike-pgh.org/).

A complete list of artists follows:
– Dan Burfield works with sculptural and metal elements (www.notionpotion.com)
– Andy Scott draws and paints on different mediums (www.aplace-forall.blogspot.com)
– Cryss Stephens photographs pinball machines in extreme close-ups
(www.csstriker.deviantart.com)
– Elizabeth Klevens creates pieces out of metal and glass (www.elizabethklevens.com)
– Doug Cooper uses charcoal and other paints to create murals and video pieces
(www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/dcooper/)
– Brian Holderman is an illustrator/artist whose custom pinball machine appeared in the
Funland exhibit at the Warhol (www.bholderman.com)
– Rafael Colon uses sneakers and skateboards as his artistic medium (www.brolicdesigns.com)
– Mike Budai’s illustrations appeared on a custom pinball machine in the Funland exhibit at the
Warhol (www.crayondracula.blogspot.com)

Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life runs from Friday, July 15 through Sunday, August 21.

I know what Iiiiiiiiii’ll be doing Friday night! And for the next month! Hooray for pinball season!

Birthday/Pinball Extravaganza 2009

Well, once again, the PAPA Tournament has come and gone and I find myself with an intense longing for pinball and bad carpeting.

I did terrible this year, as I always do, but I had loads and loads of fun. I sunk more tokens into that machine on the left than I though humanly possible. I was kinda bummed that we had to use tokens this year. I came with rolls of quarters in tow for this, dammit. I could have put them in my fists and punched bitches. It was amazing to see this machine in real life though. Pictures do not do justice to the “hippy-dippy” ness of it. And yes, those girls have ice cream. I don’t know why this pleases me so much, but it does.

The sheer amount of patience required for this would make me go insane. Upon meeting Mike Budai, it seems that my brain died. I had so many questions regarding the building of this, and I seemed to have forgotten them all. Also, might have been all that tequila consumed before we got there. Goddamn birthday margaritas. What did I expect? From what I remember, he found this machine in working order, and art-ed it up. It seems like it would be so intimidating, with the sheer amount of space to fill in addition to the limitations provided by bumpers and flippers and whatnot. It turned out so super awesome, though, and I think I won the most on that one. I could have imagined that, however.

<- Hey! That’s me and Mike Budai! Look at that. I got some sweet merch and lotsa pictures. I swear, if it wasn’t for said merch and sweet pics, I may not have actually believed that Friday happened. At this point, I was stuttering and sweating and trying not to sound like a ‘tard. I think I failed. And just so you know, Mike Budai has a kickass stern face. See all those pinball machines in the background? Imagine that, but sooooo many more. It’s amazing the amount of pinball machines they can fit in this place. And seriously, they had both Joust AND Dig Dug. What more can you ask for. Well, I could politely request that they were in working order, but it was nice to be able to just gaze longingly at them. And perhaps drool a little. Not enough to damage the goods, I promise.

This machine was super sweet, too. You know, I’ve seen Brian Holderman’s work before and enjoyed it, but never really knew who did it. So now, it’s nice to be able to put a name with an image. I think he did a shirt for the Arts Festival this spring? I could be totally wrong on that one, though. If you click on that picture there, it’ll take you to his website, full of fun, cutesy, creepy little things. And some more pinball love. I feel like I’m so out of touch with Pittsburgh anymore, but that’s a whole other blog, I suppose. Long story short: It’s awesome to see so many talented people coming out of the woodwork these days. And to see so many of them working together. And dear god, I love this style. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a Pittsburgh art scene!

Anyway, back to the birthday festivities! Somehow, we conviced Mike to come to Cantley’s. How that happened, I’m not even sure, but it rocked my evening. We had some celebratory birthday drinks and I talked his ear off. He’s an excellent conversationalist though. Everything from art to music to skating to marriage to peanut butter. Yes ladies, he’s married. After that, the good people that are my friends dragged my drunk ass home and we played silly games until the wee hours of the morning and, somehow, continued drinking. I thought that this was a fabulous idea…until I woke up with a killer hangover at 3pm on Saturday and had to go to my mother’s house for dinner. Mom food is some serious hangover goodness, though. Pizza rolls and chocolate milk, I could not ask for anything more.

Thanks to everyone who made it happen! You guys are awesome!

PAPA Love!

I looooooooove pinball. And it just so happens that the PAPA (Professional Amateur Pinball Association) Tournament is in my hometown…and on my birthday.

The glorious people associated with PAPA have transformed an old warehouse into a pinball haven! Oh the sounds of flippers and geekdom. Actually, I knew people that worked in that warehouse years ago…they made those hair net things that go around turkeys. Now, it’s pinball. Who’da guessed?

Mike Budai's Pinball Machine

And know what makes it even better this year? MIKE BUDAI MADE A PINBALL MACHINE! It will be there. I might dry hump it a little. He’ll also be there, at least on Saturday morning. I am not the keeper of Mike Budai’s schedule, but I hope to have a run in. His birthday was yesterday…go send him some birthday love here or here.

Here’s the schedule for this years festivities:

August 13 – 11am – 12am
August 14 – 9:30am – 2am
August 15 – 8:30am – 3am. Wow. That’s THIRTEEN AND A HALF hours of hot pinball action. Fuck yeaaaah.
August 16 – 9:30am – 5:30pm

Mr. Budai will be selling similar prints at the tournament this year!

See the site for actual registration times. I don’t do the whole competitive pinball thing, but I will surely lose my life savings in quarters.

That’s FIFTY FOUR hours of pinball. Oh sweet jeebus, help me. To quote some Fear and Loathing: “…know your dope fiend. Your life may depend on it. You won’t be able to see his eyes because of tea shades, and his pants will be encrusted with semen from constantly jacking off when he can’t find a rape victim.” Except it’s beer and pinball, not semen and rape. The dope would be okay though.

Mike Budai

Mike Budai is an amazing artist and Pittsburgh native, to boot. I can’t even tell you the first time that I heard of him or saw his artwork, I think it might have been on the cover of the Pittsburgh City Paper…maybe for the Arts Festival? Either way, that Arts Festival was the first time I got to purchase a little piece of Mike Budai goodness, which was this shirt:

I absolutely love this shirt. It was already sooooo soft when I bought it and it’s only gotten better. I remember seeing it in the booth at the Arts Fesitval and jumping up and down like a little kid, screaming at my husband to stop so I could buy this, haha. Oh, good times. From what I remember, it was really reasonably priced, too. It’s held up pretty well as far as the printing goes. The only thing is that I now have a few small holes in the front from opening beer bottles with it. Oops, sorry, Mike.

 

 

 

My third encounter with Budai’s work was the PAPA tournement held in Carnegie. Seriously, this guy does shirts for pinball, how can you not love him!? I actually had no idea that he was doing the shirts for this until I went to buy one. Mine is not this one, however, the one that I got is a dark brown with two hamster-like creatures on the back playing with a pinball. It’s adorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, last but not least, I found him on Myspace. Hooray. So now, I can keep up with all of the awesomeness that is Mike Budai. The pic on the left is the current background on my work desktop, it makes me happy.

Seriously, check this guy out and support your local art scene, Pittsburgh-ers!!!

Mike Budai’s Myspace