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Since reading the news this morning, I have decided our beagle hound Shadow is artistically talented. I have decided he will have a great impact on American art and culture.
I’ve been talking to my dog in a serious way. We knew Shadow the Beagle Hound was gifted shortly after we brought him home. He was just a pup, but the shapes and designs he worked into our furniture and clothing were, we realized, creations from an inspired mind. So when I saw a story from the Associated Press about Shore Service Dogs,dubbed the “Doggie DaVincis,” creating art for sale, I decided we were overlooking our own dog’s talent. Could our hound be the next great American canine artist? Could he have an impact on abstract painting, even sculpture?
The Shore Service Dogs’ “pawtographed” art works, according to the SSD Web site, have landed the pups on “prestigious sites such as Modern Dog Art Today.” Stories have been run, not only by the Associated Press, but also in regional newspapers. These dogs aren’t just artists; they do very good work as service dogs. I can’t think of a more honorable calling for an animal.
I did a quick comparison of some abstract human work at the Chicago Contemporary Art site. The service dogs’ art reaches heights similar to human painters’ abstract works in my opinion.
Our own hound has no lofty calling in life at the moment. So it occurred to me we should encourage his artistic abilities and see what happens. Maybe he could even subsidize some of the many boxes of treats we purchase, not to mention rubber balls that he processes into a panoramic array of geometrical fragments in a very short time. We’re trying to decide now if he should opt for simple media like colored pencils or head straight to acrylics. Admittedly, the moment he gets interested in the pencils, he is hell-bent on tasting them first. Nobody ever said art can’t be yummy.
There’s a book out, Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch. I’m hoping to check the book out of our library. I’d like Shadow to have a look-see at the cats’ art. Not that he’d learn anything from the felines—he normally disdains these creatures, mainly because a large white cat in our neighborhood reduced our hound to a whining wreck one evening in our back yard—but it would give him a point of reference.
Meanwhile, as the photo shows, Shadow is devoting some time to inspiration. If he could see his own navel, he’d be gazing at it I am certain. As he lounges on his favorite chaise, I’m sure he’s debating what he can transform loose socks, chair legs and the occasional magazine into. You should really see the creations he’s formed from those pricey retainers we’ve purchased for our daughters from the orthodontist on so many occasions they lock the door when they see us arrive.
Now that I think about it, Shadow really seems to be more gifted in sculpture. He has quite a bit of experience under his collar in that medium. Think of the impact on American culture.
I have told him not to let us down—Oprah will probably call soon. (photo & text by Kay B. Day)
Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Canine Art, Dog paintings, Cat Art, Cat paintings, service dogs, American art, abstract art, American culture
