Ben

DiNino

Ben DiNino, a founding member of the Twin Cities Collage Collective, utilizes the medium of collage to explore and challenge traditional modes of representation. Drawing inspiration from avant-garde movements such as Dada and Surrealism, DiNino reimagines familiar imagery, bringing to light the overlooked minutia of everyday life.

In my art practice collage is both a challenge and a liberative medium. With the self imposed restrictions I set up with much of my work, such as size limitations or using only specific source materials, I have to push myself to find ways to create something visually striking or confusing out of what is commonly mundane imagery. I’m drawn to the background spaces, out of focus shadows, and other aesthetically neglected parts of an image. When I can reassemble these boring bits into an interesting composition it invigorates me to experiment, to create more, and to push myself in new directions.

Ben DiNino

In my work I strive to shed light on the overlooked or discarded; those items or places that are forgotten or slightly out of focus in the background. By highlighting their existence or reconfiguring them into something unique I hope to breathe new life into these neglected images and objects. The majority of my artistic practice recently has centered on collage, book art, and assemblage. I endeavor to prolong the life of these outdated how-to manuals, old magazines, snap shots, slide film, and any other materials I‘m able to cut up and reassemble. This is also a challenge since I force myself to create something visually interesting or confusing out of what can at times be banal source material. This is what truly excites me when I work. Sitting down with old liquor advertisements or an interior design magazine and experimenting with the images in an attempt to push the limitations of the source material I’m using.

With my collage work I tend to produce series, developing a collection of works that either come from similar source imagery, focus on a particular theme, or are limited by a number of self-imposed restrictions. I enjoy pushing the assumptions of what the medium of collage is with an attempt to create a more painterly or fine art look from just hand cut paper and archival adhesives. In some of these pieces it is important to know the source material, such as my abstracted collages made out of the backgrounds from mail order catalogs after the models and items for sale have been removed. I hope that my work can be viewed both aesthetically and conceptually.

Ben DiNino

Ben DiNino was originally from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, and is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.