Interview by Kiran Gurung, Colloquium Manager
Kiran Gurung: What is the source of inspiration for your ballpoint pen drawings?
Christopher Arabadjis: I’m inspired by so many different things... patterns in science, mathematics, technology, nature, architecture, clothing, drawings by artists and by children, etc.
KG: Could you explain the difference between your small and large pieces... how do you choose your scale?
CA: The smaller drawings are my laboratory. Anything goes as long as it fits my process of starting with single mark and a rule for how to repeat it. I make them on the train. So they must fit inside my backpack. I use the flat cardboard boxes used to ship 12" LPs to hold them. So I cut larger paper to fit inside. The larger drawings come about because I see something I like in a smaller drawing that I want to explore on a larger scale. For example, I’ll Take You There grew out of Untitled (2019-01-002) which was inspired by thinking about board games played in a 3-D space. Of course, the larger the paper the less significant a ballpoint pen mark becomes when looking at the work as a whole.
KG: What have you learned about ballpoint pen as a medium?
CA: Ballpoint pen has a “dry ink” that does not flow quickly. It can therefore be used to create gradations from low to relatively highly saturated color. As the Impressionists discovered, the most vibrant color combination comes not from layering one color on top of another, but from laying down a patchwork of small adjacent areas of color. Consistency of color is the most difficult aspect. It requires a relaxed grip and rhythmic motion. I’ve learned that I have a much lighter touch in the morning than I do late in the day. The energy within a field of color depends on the direction and uniformity of marks within it. Ballpoint pen is unforgiving in the sense that it does not erase. So the easiest way to hide an errant mark is to surround it with similar marks - like hiding in a crowd. In general one approaches ballpoint pen the same way one does watercolor working light to dark, though I break this rule all the time. The latest discovery I’ve made happens at the boundary when laying down two adjacent colors. If done in such a way that no inconsistent lighter areas occur with no overlapping of unlike colors, the boundary almost disappears. It is more pronounced when the colors are of equal saturation, but can happen even when this is not the case. It’s magical!
KG: What are you working on right now?
CA: I’m still making small ballpoint pen drawings every day on the train, and larger ones in my studio. However, I’ve also started to explore the use of oil pastels. I don’t have a body of work yet, but my last show had one large experimental drawing in it. Because the marks are considerably bigger than that of a ballpoint pen, coverage comes much faster. With ballpoint pen my hand is always moving. All marks are small ones so coverage takes time. With oil pastels I’ve had to take a deep breath between marks. Lots of stepping up to make a mark, and then stepping back to look. I’m still getting used to the change in process.