The Cellar - 11/10/2002: Wegman dogs

http://cellar.org/2002/wegmandogs.jpg

Another one that could have been a Friday shot, and this one is a little lame too I fear. My backlog of images, where I have about 8 very good ones waiting, is not available to me as the disk where they were is temporarily unavailable.

My mistake, but I like this one anyway and maybe I should just shut up and post it. Chip, left, and Bobbin pose in New York's Times Sqaure as a video featuring their canine colleagues plays on the Panasonic screen, top center, Friday Nov. 8, 2002. They are the Wegman dogs, whose humanized images have been made world famous through the deadpan wit of photographer and moving image artist William Wegman. Two videos, titled 'Dog Duet' and 'Front Porch,' are part of the 59th Minute Project, a collaboration of Panasonic and Creative Time, a New York presenter of public art.

I love Wegman's work, all of his dog photography, as I think any animal lover would. You've probably seen it if you don't remember the guy's name - it's almost always Weimaraners, and almost always posed in bizarre poses, sometimes wearing human clothing, sometimes dusted in flour, sometimes with fake eyes pasted over their real eyes.

But I really can't tell if it's just shlocky pop stuff. I don't take it as such, I think of it as serious art that just happens to have a very accessible nature. Kinda like Springsteen? Anyway, nice to see it getting this kind of public showing.