Dog Art Today

William Wegman: Fay at Akron Art Museum

Basic Shapes by William Wegman

To be honest, I have always had mixed feelings about William Wegman's work.  I can't shake the feeling that his Weimaraners look sad, or at minimum annoyed.  But much like my view of George Rodrigue's Blue Dog tempered into deep appreciation after learning more about his relationship to his muse, Tiffany, after reading the press notes for William Wegman: Fay at the Akron Art Museum, I am looking at Wegman's photos anew.   And seeing his dog Fay as his collaborator, not simply his tool, makes me think differently about his work.

Here are some excerpts that changed my mind:

While living in California, Wegman acquired Man Ray, a Weimaraner whom he named after the surrealist French photographer.  The dog became his partner in both life and art during their twelve-year collaboration. Man Ray became so famous that, upon his passing, he was named ‘Man of the Year’ by the New York City newspaper The Village Voice.

Grief-stricken by Ray’s death, Wegman made the decision not to get another dog, but some years later he came to meet another Weimaraner:

“When we first met in Memphis, Tennessee, she was six months old and her name was Cinnamon Girl. I named her Fay after Fay Wray, of course, but also after my first color Polaroid with Man Ray and the nail polish, which I had titled Fay Ray. Her fur was taupe, lighter and warmer-toned than Man Ray’s, and she had yellow eyes like in a Rousseau painting. I had no intention of photographing Fay. Man Ray was irreplaceable. I didn’t want to mar my memory of him.
… In a short time Fay matured from a coltish youth into a Garboesque beauty. My pictures grew with her. Now she was the muse, the adored one. Skin-deep beauty became the soul of my work.”

Fay had a chameleon-like quality very different from Man Ray's concrete presence. The bond between the artist and his muse is undeniable.  Images of Fay balanced upon an ironing boarding in Sphinx (1987) and coolly starting into the lens from beneath a black net in Netted (1988) show her deep trust in Wegman.

I still don't know if balancing a dog on an ironing board is the best idea.  But I think I see more love and less annoyance in Fay's eyes.  And to me that makes a big difference.

If you are in the Akron area, you have a chance to hear William Wegman speak on May 15, 2009 at 6:30 pm.  Tickets are available here.

William Wegman: Fay runs from May 16 to August 16, 2009 at the Akron Art Museum.

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Keep Calm Poster Generator

Something fun to keep you occupied between washing our hands and mapping new cases of Swine Flu, the Keep Calm and Carry On Image Generator.  Above is my variation.  Enjoy!

Via Fita Cola.

17th Century Greyhound Sculpture Aquired by the Rijksmuseum

Bronze Greyhound by Artus Quellinus, 1609-1668

Hat tip to Michèle of Brussels, writer of the wonderful Eurodog blog, who keeps me informed of the latest European dog art news.  When she sent me this post about this magnificent Greyhound bronze , I thought it was a contemporary piece.  In fact, this lifesize dog sculpture was created in the mid-17th century by Artus Qhellinus of Antwerp. 

Note the dog's detailed collar.  On it, is the Roose family coat of arms, so it is thought that this is a dog portrait of the family's pet.  Once again we see there is nothing new in our obsession with our dogs and our desire to memorialize them through art.

This is one of five sculptures recently acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  Visit their website for more information.

Kimberly Merrill: Unleashed at Lora Schlesinger

Lenny

Kimberly Merrill's Unleashed show opens this Saturday, April 25 at Lora Schlesinger Gallery in Santa Monica.  It looks like a beauty.  The artist, a divorced empty-nester who decided to go to art school ten years ago and went on to get her BFA and MFA and now teach at Laguna College of Art and Design, became interested in the history of dog portraits and began her own series a year ago.  This is her first solo show.

What I like about her work is not just her mastery of oils, the high-wire act of painting, in my opinion, but also her return to the primal aspect of dog portraiture.  As she writes in her artist's statement:

I realized that even with the surge in representational painting today, animal painting as a genre, largely follows a Modernist aesthetic, and is rarely seen in fine art or academic art circles. I want to bridge the divide, both as an academic painter and as a dog lover and present dogs, not as one-dimensional stereotypes, but as living breathing spirits. In each painting, it is the domesticated individual, along with their wild heritage that I hope to capture and memorialize, and in doing so, bring the same dignity to them that they bring to our lives everyday.

Merrill's dogs have personalities, but they have animality too.  It is a delicate balance she manages with a stunning expertise, inspired, she says, by 18th century painter, Jean-Baptise Oudry, renowned for the soulfulness of his exotic animals in captivity.  I also see shades of one of my favorite 19th century dog artists, Monica Gray, one of the many painters Merrill must have seen in another of her inspirations, William Secord's book, Dog Painting 1840 - 1940.

Above all, I am inspired by Kimberly Merrill as an artist who found her passion by starting a new chapter in her life, and who is not afraid to look back several centuries in order to capture dogs anew. 

Lily

Napoleon

Chiquita

Whistler

Kimberly Merrill Unleashed at Lora Schlesinger runs April 25, 2009 - June 6, 2009. 

Visit Merrill's blog, Contemporary Canine, for more information.  She also paints pet portrait commissions and can be reached at 949-422-8508.  Having a Merrill original of your dog would be simply brilliant.  If you get one, I would love to see it.

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Dog Art Today - Mutt Lynch Winery Wine Label Contest Announced!

Dog Art Today and Mutt Lynch Winery, North America's Most renowned dog winery,  have partnered to host the 2009 Dog Art Wine Label Contest.  All artists are invited to submit one dog-and-wine-themed work of art.  The winning entry will be made into a label for Mutt Lynch Winery's limited edition wine that will debut at the winery's Dog Days of Summer on August 8, 2009.  This annual event includes wine tasting, dog themed art, and vendor booths to benefit the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.  Dogs on leash welcome.

The Wine Label Contest winner will receive one case of the rare and exclusive wine signed by winemaker Brenda Lynch, a featured spotlight on Dog Art Today, and an invitation to attend the Dog Days of Summer in Healdsburg, Sonoma County (travel and accommodations not included.)

Click here for contest rules and application to enter.  Deadline for submissions is June 12, midnight, PST