“Hello! If you need something to do this Saturday, this pencil sculpture event in Minneapolis sounds outstanding,” my college roommate, Elyse Cusick, wrote to me today.
Elyse was giving me old news, I thought. We had already linked to the story in our newsletter.
“I was going to try to go there for it, but couldn’t swing it,” she continued.
*record scratch*
Elyse lives in Boston.
Why would my dear friend fly out to Minneapolis to see a sculpture of a pencil?
Well, when David Rees is hosting the event, that’s the reason.
Who is David Rees?
If you were politically-aware in the early 00s, you may recognize “Get Your War On,” a satirical comic strip about 9/11 and the subsequent military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He also is an artisanal pencil sharpener and the author of “How to Sharpen Pencils.” There is even a short film about his pencil sharpening skills.
Elyse describes Rees as “generally a delightful weirdo.”
How did Rees get connected to a local sculptor here in Minneapolis?
“I think whoever is making the actual pencil sculpture must just like his vibe or know about his pencil work,” Elyse theorizied.
As we await a comment from the pencil’s sculptor, Curtis Ingvoldstad, we can gather some clues from the project’s website.
The website quotes the Prince lyric, “drive around Lake of the Isles is cool (I know).” Yes, I fact-checked this lyric. It exists. Weird. In a delightful way.
Lastly, the website reads, “to make this a ‘living’ installation, the pencil will be sharpened annually with fanfare.” Ok, at this point I am suspicious of who wrote the website copy. I’m betting it’s Rees. Either way, delightfully weird, indeed.
This Saturday, the pencil sculpture will be sharpened.
“I’m coming out of retirement to supervise the inaugural sharpening of this massive pencil,” Rees posted to his Instagram account. “This will be my first artisanal pencil sharpening gig in like seven years.”
The sculpture and event address is 2217 E. Lake of the Isles Parkway. The event on June 4 starts at 1 p.m.
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