Dog Art Today

DANK Closing Party 8.1.14

 

Come by DANK Gallery this Friday to celebrate the closing of The DANK Inaugural featuring my collaboration with Tyler Foote.

DANK Gallery
300 Spring St.
Nevada City, CA 95959

August 1, 2014, 5 - 9 pm.

Dogs are welcome, but you might want to leave them at home. It's going to be 95 and humid.

P.S. I made this "Polaroid" with two of my new favorite iPhone apps: Shakeit Photo and Over.

P.P.S. There are three DANK Koans left.  If you're looking like sudden intuitive enlightenment in a box for $20, you can purchase it here.

What Is A DANK Koan? And Would You Like One?

 

 

DANK Koan by Moira McLaughlin

My dog, Tyler Foote, and I made ten DANK Koans for the DANK Inaugural. Five are left and available to purchase for $20 each.

A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or riddle used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon dependence on reason and achieve sudden intuitive enlightenment: from the Japanese kōan, kō (public) + an (proposition).

You probably know the koan, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" attributed to Master Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769).

The DANK Koans are three dimensional objects on which to meditate and gain enlightenment. 

Each box holds an environmental object found by Tyler Foote.  They are wrapped in pages of the book Essentials in American History written in 1905 by Albert Bushnell Hart.

 

 

The 1905 book I deconstructed to make the DANK Koans

 

I envisioned one experiencing the DANK Koans by ripping them open like a fortune cookie to contemplate what's inside.  But fellow DANK artist, Kathy Frey, the first person to purchase one, told me she intends to keep hers intact and meditate on the unknowable inside.

Whoa.

That's awesome.

At the DANK opening, someone stole one.  I thought it was appropriate in a offensive, counterintuitive way.

Another Koan holder wants to keep hers intact for a while, in reserve for a day or moment when insight is needed, and then open it.

My dad said he would never open one.  He saves things.  My mom, like me, would open hers immediately.  We're curious.  But I am my father's daughter and I see his point too.  They do look pretty.  Why muck things up pondering questions with no answers?

Here is a sneak peek of one...I hope it doesn't ruin it for you...

 

 

DANK Koan interior

 

 

 

DANK Koans at DANK Gallery, photo by Roseanne Burke

Tyler Foote and I would be happy to pick one out for you...

 

 

Tyler Foote and a crate of DANK Koans

DANK Koans are $20 each.

Shipping $5.95 in the US. $15.00 internationally.

Puchase via PayPal here...

Art Stars: John Dolan and George

 

 

George and John Dolan, courtesy Howard Griffin Gallery

Have you heard about the meteoric rise of former homeless man, John Dolan, and his "guardian angel" and muse, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named George?

Full story here.

More here.

New exhibtion, John Dolan - John and George, now on view at Howard Griffin Gallery.

Hat tip to Clair Hartmann.

Is Your Dog An Art Dog?

 

 

Asher (Principle Gallery) by Jon Bernad

Los Angeles-based photographer and dog lover Jon Bernad is looking for art dogs to include on his charming blog, Art Dogs!

Specifically he'd like images of dogs next to art, or in an art space, and somehow connected to that space.

He prefers images of dogs only, existing on their own terms with the art (not a person holding the dog).

Please include the name of the dog, artist, photographer, gallery, and the location.

Send image to Jon Bernad

Tyler Foote and Darby are featured here.

The DANK Inaugural Opening Reception

 

 

Diverted by Nancy Nelson, photograph by Roseanne Burke

 

Images from The DANK Inaugural opening reception, Nevada City, CA, 7.11.14

 

 

DANK Hobo Graffiti by Roseanne Burke, photo by Dylan Sherwood McConnell

 

 

Before the doors opened: (l - r) The Road to Hell Was Flooded So I Turned Back by Celine Adrianna Negrete, 65% by Joe Meade, Water Paintings by Sheila Cameron, The Golden Fissure/The Digger's Ounce by Dylan Sherwood McConnell, (foreground) Tyler Foote Finds: A Compendium of My Ignorance by Moira McLaughlin, photograph by Jim Pyle

 

 

Water Edifice by Joe Meade, photo by Lenka Vodicka

 

 

DANK KOANS by Moira McLaughlin, photo by Roseanne Burke

 

 

Lola Montez and Amanda Thibodeau, photo by Moira McLaughlin

 

 

Don't Drown by Kathy Frey, photo by Jim Pyle

 

 

Sacred Bath by Joe Meade, photo by Jim Pyle

 

 

DANK Tableau by Moira McLaughlin, Roseanne Burke, and Joe Meade, photo by Celine Adrianna Negrete

  

 

 

Decay of Our Sacred River by Cynthia Levesque, photo by Jim Pyle

 

 

This (will/was) always be(en) here by Dylan Sherwood McConnell

 

 

How to Pack a Conestoga Wagon: Mary Hallock Foote by Roseanne Burke, photo by Jim Pyle

 

 

DANK Gallery, photo by Roseanne Burke

 

 

Where Do You Get Your Water From? by Joe Meade, photo by Moira McLaughlin

 

 

DANK Dogs, photo by Moira McLaughlin

 

The DANK Inaugural gallery times:

Wednesdays, July 23, 30, during Nevada City Hot Summer Nights, 6 - 9 pm.

Saturday mornings, July 19 and 26, during the Nevada City Farmer's Market, 9:00-1:00 am.

Friday, August 1, closing night reception during Nevada City Art Walk, 5:00-9:00 pm.

Visit DANK for more information.