2000

American Ruff from the "City Flotsam" Series

American, 1951 - 2024

Philadelphia is not just Jan Yager's chosen community, it also plays a large role in the context of her work. She is interested in making her work both contemporary to her time and closely related to her location. After moving to the Northern Liberties section of the city Yager wanted to reflect the issues gripping that evolving neighborhood. She began combing the streets, making art from the urban detritus and the resilient seeds of nature. American Ruff reflects the artist's ten-year-long meditation on these materials and on Philadelphia's history. It is part of the City Flotsam series, which is built from crack vials, crack vial caps, cigarette butts, bullet casings, and other unsettling objects testifying to urban dissipation.