demo video

Thought it was an idea to show some pics of the process,

Take one totally innocent and unsuspecting dog

Add appropriate health and safety factors following risk assessment

Construct various harness designs until one both fits and works

Making sure the dog is quite happy with this,of course.

(Make allowances for sulks, tantrums and bad hair days!)

Now add weatherproof housing for camera and its off to make me movie.

Then chill after a hard days filming.

(LOL)

The world through a dogs perspective

In looking  at artists for this project I have selected ones whose work reflects my canine perceptions.

The first artist had to be David Hockney,whose canine paintings have done so much to reference our place in human art.He is, quite simply,the Best.

I like the apparant unassuming ordinariness of the man which belies his complex nature and artistic brilliance.He has covered diverse media  in his career,always producing art from the heart and soul of his being.

The above illustration from his book "Dog Days" reflects the  time he took to observe his pets  natural poses and capture their essence.

Hockney was very influenced by the works of Bacon,inspired by his mother and the lifelong explorations of his sexuality. 

It could be argued that without this emotional conflict, his work may have gone in a different though lesser direction.

 The above

portrait of his mother is rendered in his classic photomontage   joiner style.

The film of his private life by director Hazan was a painful personal  watershed which brought him severe traumas and anguish.   

Yet in allowing the film to go public, and facing inner hometruths, his career and popularity rocketed.

The value of his work to me in his ability to take joy in simply BEING, and feeling totally free and uninhibited to express his passion for LIFE in his work.

He has rightfully earnt the title of the greatest living British Artist.

The second Artist(s) belongs to the Conceptual category.

Here, it is the IDEA, the THOUGHT PROCESS, which is important to the artists, rather than being overly concerned with the (end) product.

Essential here is the CREATING,THE DOING.

Both for me and my biped owner, this is what Fine Art is about.

Robert Rauschenberg  sent the above telegram to the Galerie Iris Clert which declared "This is a portrait of Iris Clert if I say so".

A good example both of Conceptual Art and why some people find the mind set difficult to grasp.

Lawrence Weiner rendered his work in linguistic form, using words and visual language in place of paints and brushes.

Again it is this alternative way of looking at things which has such merit on this project, raising the ideas above the result in importance. This image

of BRUCE NAUMAN'S mean clowns shows how another unorthodox media, that of neon lighting,has been used in a way which connects with visual strength.

Confronted with the question of 'What to do' after his studies, he concluded that "IF I WAS AN ARTIST AND I WAS IN THE STUDIO,THEN WHATEVER I WAS DOING MUST BE ART".

There is such a huge truth captured in this simple statement.

Much of his work is video based, like SETTING A GOOD CORNER, where he is filmed by his wife erecting fence posts.

The event is profoundly mundane and simple-the very point he is trying to convey in the rawness of  his work. It is viewed as a declaration of the faith in Simplicity and Directness.

In his 1988 GREEN HORSES,art and life crossover in this video projection of him riding, using a favourite technique of inverting the image.

Deeply involved in horse training, Nauman is here  exploring the Unity of man and beast.

This is a theme i have extended to man and dog in applying the research to the project,as well as exploring the value of video as a media.

In 1999 Steve McQueen won the Turner Prize for his video work DRUMROLL, a surprise winner over the hotly tipped Tracey Emin.

His video was produced by placing in a barrel and rolling it through the streets of the city.

The footage was then projected onto three walls.

McQueen hated the constraints art school imposed on him, complaining that "they wouldn't  let me throw the camera in to the air".

McQueen invests ALL OF HIS BEING into his work,with absolute belief in all that he does.

"AS AN ARTIST YOU WANT TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF BUT ALSO CHALLENGE THE MEDIA,IN THIS CASE NARRATIVE FILM MAKING".

He has been highly influenced by LA NOUVELLE VAGUE, the French New Wave movement.

This was a response to the social and economic constraints of 1950 french society.

Neither money nor equipment were plentiful, but rather than be defeated, they used whatever was available.

Similarly,McQueen used SUPERMARKET TROLLIES to facilitate tracking shots.

"I FELT THAT ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE IF YOU DID IT RATHER THAN JUST THOUGHT ABOUT IT" (Steve McQueen).

His video DEADPAN is in the Buster Keaton mold, where a building appears to collapse around him.

In SHAME he explored the issue of SEX ADDICTION and the influence of the internet on our social lives.

HUNGER was perhaps his most controversial video film where he examined in depth the issue of the I.R.A 'dirty blanket protest'.

12 british prisoners died in jail in this infamous protest over BOBBY SANDS.

McQueen deliberately tackled this issue, as the Bobby Sands issue had been swept under the carpet for 27 years. It was not politically correct to even refer to the name at the time.

 These stamps were the result of an Imperial War Museum Commission to tour Iraq and record the plight of our forces in the conflict.

He was overwhelmed by the humanity and sacrifice of the troops, and believed this to be an appropriate way to highlight their situation.

Throughout the project i have used these artists to highlight our canine view, and specific to this are an additional two artists.

This is the subhuman GUILLERMO VARGAS who caused an international storm of protest in 1997 with his EXPOSITION No 1.

An allegedly starving dog was chained a wall as an art exhibit.

For reasons of decency, this image has been modified.

The ensuing protest still continues today and remains unresolved.

Additional comment is not needed.

On a more cheerful note,fellow canine artist TILLAMOOK CHEDDAR has done excellent work to enhance the interspecies relationship.

Born in 1999 his paw scratches on a carbon pad have progressed to produce some noteworthy artwork,especially in watercolours.
 All of these artists share a single commonaility-they have no qualms in looking above and beyond the mundane, to address issues ranging from the taboo to the (extra)ordinary.
And in doing this they push the boundaries and meanings of art forwards through the strength of personal passion and commitment they bring to the expression of these issues.
Our knowledge and understanding of the world we live in is enhanced by their efforts and we can only aspire to emulate them in our expositions.

All of this research has enabled me to equip myself with a video camera

to record and edit how we dogs see the human world.

It is hoped the resultant videos will provide a greater understanding of how we see the human world and by examining the underlying alternate perspective,gain a greater understanding of the man dog relationship.

And finally, if you're still wondering what this juxtaposed perspective is all about, I'll leave you with a few lines from comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

"If aliens are watching this through telescopes, they're gonna think the dogs are the leaders. If you see two life forms,one of them's making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume was in charge?"

Exactly!