Dog Art Today

This Is Who We Are: Photography by Susan Sabo

Susan Sabo takes her dog photography beyond pretty pictures this Friday with her show This Is Who We Are.  It will feature a collection of dogs who need homes immediately, with the shelter representatives standing by to answer questions and provide information.  Also, all prints are available for purchase with proceeds going to the dog’s shelter, donated in the buyer’s name.

Facing the reality that this is who we are:

We don't spay or neuter our dogs.
We chain them in the backyard.
We beat and kick them when they don't "behave."
We abandon them in shelters, where they’ll likely be killed.
We abandon them in the streets, where they’ll likely die of starvation.
We kill their spirit, their will to live.
We break their hearts.

Susan uses her talent and drive to make change --- brilliant on so many levels.  I'm only featuring the invitation photo (above) and Susan sharing her mathematical equation on dog love (below) since she plans to reveal the rest of the photos opening night.  Photo books will be available after the sale as well.  I'll get a link if she's selling online.

Info:

WHAT:    “This Is Who We Are: Photography by Susan Sabo”
WHEN:     Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 7pm
WHERE:   Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
               4313 Atlantic Avenue
               Long Beach, CA 90807
               562-595-0081

Children & babies welcome.
No invitation needed; attire is casual.

Danger Dog Art From Nepal

Michelle Page is an assistant film editor, a world traveler, and a dog art entrepreneur.  Her burgeoning business started in 1986 when she first traveled to Nepal and fell in love with the hand painted "Beware of Dog" signs she noticed everywhere. 

As she returned over the years, she realized these wonderful pieces of outsider art were beginning to disappear, replaced by computer generated images with much less charm.  So she started collecting the "Danger Dog" signs and then tracked down the artists who painted them.  In June, she brought back 100 signs to L.A. (where she lives) and they sold out immediately.  In December, she went back for 300 more signs and set up her own website to promote them, along with displays at the Santa Monica Museum of Art and the Craft and Folk Art Museum.

I think the most brilliant part of her business is that you can the commission a "Danger Dog" sign of your own.  Simply send Page a photo of your dog and chose the style and wording you like, and she will have 3 artists render your dog in the Nepalese tradition.  You pick your favorite and she sells the rest.  Each piece costs $200.  And, she is in Nepal right now taking requests.  This would be a terrific Father's Day gift.   Visit her online photo album to see dozens of examples of dog, cat, horse, and parrot art from Nepal.  Really worth a click.  Here are some of my favorites:

Here's a classic of farmers and feminists...

Beyond the lovely, cheeky, vibrant artwork you receive, you also have the satisfaction of knowing you are contributing to artists who find themselves competing with new technology and dwindling sales, that is until Michelle Page came along.  Be a global dog art patron and order yours today!

Read more about Michelle Page in Bettijane Levine's Los Angeles Times article.

Horse Art Today

Solar powered kinetic paper horse sculpture by James G. Watt.  Inspired by Eadweard Muybridge's early motion photography and artist Theo Jansen.  This little film is so beautiful, I had to share.

Click here to order a kit to build your own solar powered kinetic paper horse.  I wonder if Watt has any dogs in the works?  A running Greyhound would be brilliant.

Music: "Sawdust & Diamonds" by Joanna Newsom...Love it!

Via NOTCOT.

PAWS Petchitecture 2008 Goes Green

Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) continues its tradition of fundraising through design with its Petchitecture silent auction tonight at The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco.  This year, contributing local artists, designers, and architects were asked to create unique pet habitats using sustainable resources or recycled materials.

All proceeds from this pet-friendly night, that includes photo ops with top pet photographers and dog treats served on silver trays, go towards this amazing charity that has worked for 20 years to keep people with AIDS and other debilitating illnesses together with their companion animals.  What a wonderful idea, pet lovers helping pet lovers.  If you're in San Francisco, run a comb through your dog's hair and head over to the Grand Ball Room.  It sounds like it will be filled with creative souls moved by the power of dog love (or turtle, bunny, bird or cat love).  Perfect!

But call first, only a limited number of tickets are available at the door.  (415) 979-9550 Ext. 309 

You can also email [email protected] for details.

Here are some highlights of the habitats to be auctioned courtesy of POOCH, one of the event's sponsors.


Inspired by Russian nesting dolls.

Gorgeous design, but is there a sustainable helmet included?

Dog Art Today favorite, Scottie's Fine Art Caves.

Elliott Erwitt: Dog Dogs

 

 

New York City, 1946

Elliott Erwitt is one of my favorite photographers, and not just because dogs frequently appear in his work.  I think there's something about his outsider roots, he was born in Paris to Russian parents and emigrated to America in 1939, that allows him to capture the details of daily life and distill a sense of time and place into one image.  That, and his street level perspective of 1970's New York mirrors my own street level memories of "the city" during that era before Disney owned Times Square and the Gap set up shop on every street corner.

 

London, England, 1966

Philadelphians have a wonderful opportunity to see more that 60 Erwitt dog images at the James A. Michner Art Museum's show, Elliott Erwitt: Dog Dogs , starting April 26 and running until August 31, 2008.  For the rest of us, Erwitt's beautifully designed website  is great place to lose yourself in his exquisite photos spanning five decades, and his book, Dog Dogs, is available here.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Ballycotton, Ireland, 1968

New York City, 1974

 

 

 

New York City, 1973

 

 

 

Paris, France, 1989

 

On a side note, I found this great photography blog while searching for Erwitt dogs, Photo Of The Day.  Very cool.