Art

#collage #Dustin Yellin #glass #sculpture

Psychogeographies: 3D Collages Encased in Layers of Glass by Dustin Yellin

March 21, 2014

Johnny Waldman

Psychogeography-45-2014-Dustin-Yellin (1)-001

Psychogeography 45 (2014) | all photos courtesy the artist

Untitled Man (48) Detail 014

Psychogeography 42 – detail

Psychogeography-45-2014-Dustin-Yellin (2)

Psychogeography 45 (2014) – detail

Psychogeography-45-2014-Dustin-Yellin (3)

Psychogeography 45 (2014) – detail

Psychogeography-43-2014-Dustin-Yellin (1)

Psychogeography 43 (2014)

Psychogeography-43-2014-Dustin-Yellin (3)

Psychogeography 43 (2014) – detail

Psychogeography-43-2014-Dustin-Yellin (2)

Psychogeography 43 (2014) – detail

Psychogeography_no61__2013_Dustin_Yellin.jpg

Untitled Small Figure 07

Psychogeography_no41__2013_Dustin_Yellin

Psychogeography 41 (2013)

process

Psychogeography is the act of exploring an urban environment with an emphasis on curiosity and drifting. Or, more colloquially put, a “toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities.” For the Brooklyn-based artist Dustin Yellin, his toy box is full of everything he finds on the street—flowers, leaves, bugs, and even dead rats, which are then composed into three-dimensional collages and sealed behind resin.

In his most recent series “Psychogeographies,” Yellin uses multiple layers of glass, each covered in detailed imagery, to create a single intricate, three-dimensional collage with a mix of magazine cut-outs and acrylic paint. When pressed to describe what he does, Yellin struggles, but not with a lack of words. Here is an excerpt from a mini-essay “concerning the difficulty of saying something about what I do.”

“Is it a copout to say “the work speaks for itself”?
I feel like it is
But I’m also awful talking about what the work is.
So sometimes I say “it speaks for itself”
But what does that even mean?

However, he does offer some advice:

First and foremost, they’re massive see-through blocks
And that’s one way to read them, listen to them “speaking”
As massive see through blocks.
Another is to listen to what’s inside them
The forms, the clippings, the dead things, the painted things,
Frozen between the layers of glass, what I’ve called
The captured and frozen “dynamism” of culture.

You can follow Dustin Yellin on Facebook or Instagram, or read more about him in this NYT article.

#collage #Dustin Yellin #glass #sculpture

 

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. You'll connect with a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, read articles and newsletters ad-free, sustain our interview series, get discounts and early access to our limited-edition print releases, and much more. Join now!

 

 

Also on Colossal

Related posts on Colossal about collage Dustin Yellin glass sculpture