In the dog, William Wegman found not only man’s best friend, but especially the photographer’s favourite model. The American artist has made his Weimaraner pointers the subject of an ongoing surrealist portrait series that has attracted considerable attention worldwide.
(...) Continue readingWilliam Wegman – Painting studies, teaching, and beginnings as a photographer
William Wegman was born on 2 December 1943 in Holyoke, a small town in the US state of Massachusetts. His early artistic interest was in painting, and he pursued this at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, supplemented by a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Consequently, Wegman really succeeded in painting at first, exhibiting paintings with moderate success, and working as a teacher to earn a living. Whilst teaching at the California State College in New York he discovered photography, with which he celebrated his first great successes in the 1970s.
Internationally celebrated artist with surrealist dog portraits
When one asks William Wegman for a picture of Man Ray, they won’t see a work by the famous American Dadaist, but the portrait of a German pedigree dog, a Weimaraner. Wegman acquired the dog during a stay at Long Beach, and from the first photographic attempts with the animal, there developed a long and fruitful artistic occupation. Wegman photographed his tolerant male dog - named Man Ray – in the most diverse poses, decked him out with bizarre props, put him in absurd costumes, and made him the leading actor in several video films. Man Ray quickly became the most famous dog in the art world, and when he died of cancer in 1982, the Village Voice commemorated him as Man of the Year, whilst William Wegman completely withdrew from the art industry for a few years. It was only after four years that the artist appeared in public again with new works – his model this time was a bitch, Fay Ray, which, in contrast to her predecessor, Man Ray, Wegman photographed primarily with a Polaroid instant camera. Fay Ray’s descendants later became the stars of numerous picture series and photo books.
Wegman’s dogs as a reflection of human society
William Wegman’s oeuvre found resonance with a broad audience. He was not only guest at prestigious art fairs such as Documenta 5 and 6 in Kassel, but often touched popular culture, working for Saturday Night Live, Nickelodeon and even Sesame Street; the advertising world also benefited from his wit and ingenuity as well as the fact that simply everyone delights in his photographs. Equally humorous and ambiguous, the dog pictures meet the taste of children and adults alike. William Wegman and his dogs retell fairy tales, turn time-honoured viewing habits on their head and constantly open up new references. His illustrated book Puppies made it onto the New York Times bestseller list. William Wegman lives and works today in New York and Maine as a painter, video artist – and photographer. His favourite models are still his dogs.
William Wegman - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
