Animals in Art - William Wegman

William Wegman, Basic Shapes In Color,1993

"In 1970 Wegman moved to Los Angeles. And he bought a dog. It was the best US$35 Wegman ever spent. In an interview, Wegman said he considered naming the dog Bauhaus but didn't "because he wasn't black and white and square." He named the dog after an early conceptualist photographer, Man Ray. Over the next twelve years each made the other famous."

"From the beginning Wegman discovered that Man Ray was a perfect photographic subject. Regardless of how Wegman situated or posed the dog, Man Ray retained an expression of calm intelligence and gentle dignity. It is that contradiction that creates the absurdity. One senses…and this is only partly a product of anthropomorphism…that the dog is complicit in the creation of the photograph. "In a way, he is like an object," Wegman said of Man Ray. "You can look at him and say 'How am I going to use you?' whereas you can't with a person….You can manipulate him [although] he doesn't feel manipulated, so he feels he's doing something he's supposed to do or having fun, one of the two."

Text by Greg Fallis (source)

Floor Piece II




Avalanche




Dog covered in grey cloth




Front Facade



Mobius











Stuffed Animals



Chow



Waiting room



Game Preserve



Flora and Fauna




 watch the video below