Will Wegman, Essay Example

Will Wegman, is a contemporary artist whose photographic images of his famous Weimaraner dogs, Man Ray and Fay Ray, have presented a whimsical collection of subjects in varied range of media and forms. These have included prints, flipbooks, video, and other vehicles in which he has expressed a delightful and comical collection of images.  He has been an extremely prolific creator of all of these art forms, and has made portraying life’s oddities his signature motif.

Wegman was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1943.  He was reportedly always fascinated by art, and when he received a Polaroid camera for his birthday one year, he delved into the world a photographer wholeheartedly.  Wickman when two Massachusetts College of art in ballston and later received his master’s of fine arts from the University of Illinois in 1967.  He taught in Wisconsin but eventually moved to California and in 1970, adopted his first Weimaraner, Man Ray, making him the enduring subject of his photographs and videos.  These generally involved posing the dog and costumes and often in scenes reminiscent of classic American images, such as the spoof of the painting American gothic.  Man ray became such a familiar image in Wegman’s art that he has earned much fame and affection not only in the art world, but from fans around the .world.

Wegman moved to New York in 1972, and continued working with man ray over the next 12 years, receiving various awards including a man of the year award from the village voice.  In 1986, Wegman began to collaborate with his new dog, Fay Wray, using a Polaroid camera again and continuing to photograph his dogs.  Some of the most well known art institutions of the country have granted awards to Wegman, including the Whitney museum of art in New York and the museum of natural art in New York.  His dog family appears in many of his works ranging from early video shorts two books to mainstream videos.  .

Wegman’s work has been shown internationally in countries as far away as Japan; he has turned his film and video works into creations for various cable channels such as nickelodeon as well as network television shows such as Saturday night live.  He has also been a regular contributor to the show sesame street on PBS.  He has also contributed a film to the 1996 Sundance film festival, a work which starred the newest addition to his Weimaraner family, Chip.  He has published many books containing his work, and which have provided a great deal of enjoyment for his fans and readers.

Wegman’s themes revolve generally around animals in anthropomorphic situations, dressing his dogs up in costumes, carrying human props and equipment all the while looking deadpan into the camera.  The dogs are presented in ridiculous positions, dressed up as women, men, fishermen, farmers, outfitted as elephants in dinosaurs and posing with children, cats, couples’ models and other canines.

Photographing his dogs was not Wegman’s only form of art; he also created videos that were completely odd, such as one featuring him applying deodorant to his armpit, while describing the process in a flat tone.

References

Stevens, Mark. “Puppy Love.” New York Magazine 26 March 2006: 44. Web. 23 May 2010.

Wegman,William, and Joan Simon. William Wegman:Funney/Strange.  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.  Print.

William Wegman Retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, ARTINFO, May 28, 2006,     http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/13358/william-wegman-retrospective-at-the-brooklyn-museum/, retrieved 2010, May 22.