No System

There is No System consists of a series of essays tracing the fall of American weightlifting from international predominance in the 1940- 50s and the gradual decline into the 1960s; as documented in the pages of Strength and Health magazine. The basic premise of the essays centers around the fact the USA failed to develop a rational sport science based system of training for weightlifting. “…the rise to international prominence of American weightlifting in the 1940s and rapid fall by the end of the 1950s was determined to be primarily the result of a national failure to develop a rational, scientific based training system designed to acquire the skills requisite of modern weightlifting”. In actuality, the preeminence of the USA in international weightlifting in the 1940s - 1950s was in part an illusion. It was due in no small part to the fact the infrastructure, athlete base and so forth of pre – WWII powers Germany, Austria and many other countries were decimated by the war. Beginning in 1960, the introduction and commercialization of the power rack by Bob Hoffman and the York Barbell company further exacerbated the decline. This product was touted as the savior to America’s declining competitiveness. The marketing of the power rack to weightlifters only made matters worse for American weightlifting. Furthermore, it greatly facilitated the commercialized foundation of the strength and conditioning profession; which was to follow. This commercialization continues up to the present time; fostering confusion between product and science based methodology. The final essay is contrast/comparison of dynamic and static exercises and techniques; the irrational application of static (powerlifting/bodybuilding) techniques to strength training for dynamic sports: “Any attempt to compare the strength/power developed from dynamic sports such as weightlifting with that developed from powerlifting and bodybuilding is a logic of fallacy. The power expressed in weightlifting exercises has almost nothing in common with powerlifting/bodybuilding.”

No System is Vinca Petersen's photographic document of her life as a modern nomad. She tells us in her introduction, "Different people's lives are based around different things, ours is based around music. "For the last few years she has been traveling with a group of young people through Europe, organizing illegal musical events and raves. Living between cities in old vans and buses, they scavenge for abandoned structures, often on the cusp between urban and rural areas, where they can dance to loud techno music. The photographs present a fascinating look at modern tribal life, where technology-driven equipment and music, discarded industrial frameworks, and a nomadic lifestyle, rooted in ancient history, all come together.

Considers the national and international ramifications of U.S. ABM deployment, and its effects on SALT talks with the Soviet Union.