thanks cerfas for this thread. unfortunately i have never seen an actual issue of Purple, but i like what they have on their website.. I also really like your reasoning for why you like it, and what you spoke about pretension. i don't even know what that means! i think i agree w/ your definition of it...is it the conscious effort to be 'different'? i agree w/ faust pretension isn't all about being too serious...but i think pretension isn't about taking something too seriously and going off on some rabid tangent..if that were the case what would fine art be?? i think if the motivation is truely about trying to connect and communicate it can't be pretentious..but it can still be unclear and uneffective..