Statement–April 26, 2010, on "The Demise of Ballisticism"

Michael Boles, The Demise of Ballisticism, 2010. Aluminum, plywood, acrylic, malachite, copper,
bronze, and found objects. 46" x 60" x 1." Available for purchase–please contact the artist.

Our throw-away society is not limited only to wrappers from those things which we eat, read, or wear, but also includes our celebrities, politicians, and in large part even our art. The "master works" of the mid-nineteenth through the twentieth centuries are no more than selected examples of the tons of artistic refuse that did not make it to notable status.

The title of this work, "The Demise of Ballisticism," is quite tongue-in-cheek in this regard. Ballisticism refers to a fictitious art movement that became a part of the trash heap before it even began. What remains is a glimpse of the art, or the dart, or the heart, augering in, wings aflame, dragging with it the endless texture and detritus of our consumer driven lives.

The "false beard," symbol of authority and immortality in Ancient Egypt, will play no role in this outcome…