Since 2014
PICK PIECES The Ballpointer staff choose the artwork and let the artist explain it in their own words Vol 5 No 2 posted April 10, 2018
René Moncada・Brooklyn, New York
Nature's Purge series, 2017 (three pictured) ・ 8.25 x 11 inch (21 x 28cm) ・ ballpoint pen on paper
''We spent a lot of time over the summer making rocks out of garbage—styrofoam and paper pulp. The Montauk Historical Society has three fund raiser fairs each summer and we participated. They have given me a free spot to exhibit what can be done with garbage, particularly that which is polluting our beaches. I sell selfies to kids—and adults, surprisingly—lifting a large boulder over their head, and the money is donated to the Society.
Nature’s Purge YouTube was created after visiting Montauk Point and discovering a chain-link fence deposited by the surf. It had been twisted in such a way that it had captured fishing lines, dangerous fishing hooks, nylon ropes, plastic bottles and beer cans, and washed ashore. It had been purged from the sea and Nature was talking to me directly. I call myself Nature’s Ambassador. Nature communicates with me in the form of inspiration and it is my duty to translate these messages into a transcendental language that anybody can understand.
That language is ART, and drawing is its written form. As Nature’s Ambassador I perceive pollution as the destruction of my source of inspiration, an impediment in my spiritual communication with Nature and therefore a personal aggression.
Since 1972 I have been creating ecological exhibitions using plastic garbage deposited by the surf in Venezuela. I wanted to use this bundle of Montauk wire with the captured plastic to create a work of art before the surf could reclaim it back into the ocean. I had no idea how I would present it, or what I would make from the fencing, but it came to me that the fence
Gareth Edwards Stourbridge, England
Lennie Mace, 1984 New York, New York
2015 PICKS page archive MENU
FEB2015~NOV2015 click the BALLPOINTER graphic (left) to access the full 2015 menu
Matt Rota Brooklyn, New York
A Year in The Pen The Ballpointer Nov 2014 - Nov 2015 PICKS of the Litter 2015
Andrey Poletaev Lugansk, Ukraine
Chen Zhen Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Shane McAdams Wisconsin / Brooklyn
Eric Seaholm Tokyo, Japan
Ler Huang Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Lennie Mace Tokyo, Japan
Guy Woodard New York, New York
Pepe Lozano Cordoba, Spain
Missing the Ball Point
Dimes-to-donuts there's a ballpoint pen within reach of you right now. Reliable friends, always there when you need them; on standby to scratch a Hitler mustache onto The President or blacken the teeth of the covergirl dujour. Your grade-school composition books were probably filled with more stream-of-conscious creative filler than actual studies. But this proletarian tool is no longer just for signing checks, writing postcards or doodling sweet nothings.
The origins of ballpoint artwork echo the humble origins of art itself. Caveman roots; the universal, instinctive urge to create. For some, an irresistible force; to express oneself, to leave one's mark, to teach, using whatever tools are available. All that's necessary is the will to do so, pressed by a bit of creative curiosity, aided by ingenuity. ''Let's see what happens when I do this.'' Galleries, museums and art critics enter the equation much later.
There you sit, a dozen-thousand years later, surfing through the daily barrage of viral news. A headline grabs you: Starving Artist Illustrates The Bible on his Bedroom Wall Using Ballpoint Pens. Well, ''starving artist '' doesn't mean much anymore; with the amount of aspiring artists art schools churn out every year its a miracle anyone goes onto a career. ''Illustrating the Bible ''? Hasn't that already been accomplished in any number of formats any number of times in any number of languages ? ''On his bedroom wall ''? Children cover walls with masterpieces daily, to their parent's dismay, worldwide. And ''using ballpoint pen''? Now there's a story, right ? Well…
News outlets worldwide still report about artwork created using ballpoint pens as if, in the half-century since its invention, the pens have never been given any artistic consideration. Prior to the advent of the internet and social media, their ignorance could be forgiven. Nowadays ballpointers are everywhere, in every corner of the world, and the so-called ballpoint Wow Factor in and of itself carries less weight. The internet and social media are these days awash with ballpoint art blogs of every stripe, although with varying content. Ballpoint art classes may already be part of a curriculum somewhere. But the birth of the internet didn't mark the beginnings of ballpoint innovation; if anything, it merely serves as proof of how commonplace it has become, or how it has been all along ・・・
NEWDE FACED
No, the drawings presented here have NOT been ''defaced'' or altered in any way. The title of this new section, DE FACED, simply describes the fact that the artworks presented here have been pulled from social media posts such as facebook and, as such, therefore ''de''-faced, as it were. Some of the artists may be familiar to readers, but new faces will also be introduced here. These artists have not been notified of inclusion here, but every effort will be made to credit the artwork as they did in their original posts.
The content of this slideshow presentation will be revised regularly & randomly.
Listed by date, from most recently posted.
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All artwork ©
respective artists
EXHIBITIONPICK Peter Ross Hong Kong May 12—June 16
Shirish Deshpande Belgaum, India
SLIDESHOW
last revised Apr. 10, 2018
Peter Ross Hong Kong
PICKS PAGE ARCHIVES2016: Read about these artworks in the artists' own words in The Ballpointer PICKPIECE archives. Click on the artwork to see their PICKPIECES.
Andrey Poletaev Lugansk, Ukraine
MalOjo Basque Country
was surrounded by the best way of presenting the work. I used the rocks I had been making out of Styrofoam, plastic bottles and paper pulp, and surround the wire sculpture with these rocks, imitating the shore where it had been found. Obsessed with the wire I had found, I also started making drawings of pieces cut out of the fencing. Here are three''・
For more information, art, and inquiries : www.reneiamthebestartist.com ・ artwork © René Moncada IATBA NA
Dave Warshaw San Diego, California
James Mylne, 1999 London, England
Holly Cappello Portland, Oregon
M.I. Shaikh Mumbai, India
PICKS PAGE ARCHIVES 2015:
illustration by Susan May for The Ballpointer
Pepe Lozano Cordoba, Spain