My 6-year-old niece came over the other day and we sat on the couch and looked through the book Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today. Then she urgently asked for paper and paints and made me this work of contemporary dog art. Thank you, Layla.
Philadelphia photographer Andrew Pinkham’s dog portraits are getting a lot of attention. Right now, they are on view at the Philadelphia International Airport where 30.6 million travelers pass through yearly. Andrew’s series entitled “Best in Show,” which I featured here in April of 2009, is part of a rotating art program designed to promote local artists and give visitors a cultural taste of Philadelphia beyond cheese steaks. For the artists, it is an opportunity share their art with the world. As exhibitions director Leah Douglas says, “Here, every show is a blockbuster.”
Briane Bagma and Carla Messikomer view “Best in Show” at the Philadelphia International Airport. Photo by Charles Fox
Meanwhile, Andrew continues to work on his 19th century style photography and he sent me some of his latest works. Over at his blog, his recent post about imbuing small dogs with dignity made me laugh:
I think every small dog owner can relate. Here are some of Andrew’s new dog portraits:
Andrew is also expanding into human portraits, with his goal being “to do work that has the same look and feel, no matter what is in front of my lens and in my thoughts.” Here is one of his recent subjects, a cycling enthusiast:
Visit Andrew Pinkham’s website to see more of his work. Read more about the Philadelphia International Airport’s rotating art exhibit in Linda Lloyd’s article in the Philadelphia Inquierer.
P.S. Hat tip to my cousin Clair “Answer Girl” Lamb who was recently in Philadelphia and let me know about Andrew’s airport show.
P.P.S. I think Maya, the Cocker Spaniel on the bicycle, is an interesting complement to yesterday’s photo of the Cocker Spaniel on the 500 lb. bomb. Perhaps both photos could be used in a “Bikes Not Bombs” campaign.
West Highland Terrier
Looking for a chic, crafty, low-maintenance dog? Get out your needles and make your own with the new book Best in Show: Knit Your Own Dog
Via Nag on the Lake by way of Amusing Planet.
Sadie, the spectacular Scottie who entered the competition as the favorite having won over 100 best in show ribbons in her career, took home the top honors at the 134 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Looking for a good photo of her, I am once again reminded of the amazing skill of the pet photographers I feature here. Daylife has a great collection of shots, many of which illustrate how difficult it is to truly capture the essence of dogs on film, especially black ones. I chose this Reuters photo because I love the cool expression of this athlete who did exactly what she planned to do, dominate. Congratulations, Sadie and handler Gabriel Rangel.
Andrew Pinkham's dog portraits exhibition, Best in Show, opens tonight at Silicon Gallery in Philadelphia. His photographs are breathtaking, and 20% of each commission goes to three charities: Philadelphia Greyhound Connection,
National Greyhound Adoption Program, PSPCA. Also, on May 1 there will be Greyhounds at the Silicon Gallery available for adoption from the Philadelphia Greyhound connection. Very cool! For more about Adrew Pinkham visit his website.
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Best in Show
In March of 2006, Michael Dickinson, a British English teacher who had lived in Turkey for 20 years, decided to contribute some of his collages to an anti-Iraq War event. The "Peace Tent" was organized by the Turkish Peace and Justice Coalition (Baris ve Adalet Koalisyon–BAK).
Ten of Dickinson's pieces were accepted and placed in the tent. Then, two days before the show was over, Dickinson returned and added a new collage. No one noticed as he stuck it up and left.
But the image, Best in Show (above), depicting the Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Erdogan with the body of a dog, winning an American flag ribbon from President Bush, did not remain under officials' radar.
The next day, Dickinson learned that all his collages had been removed by the civil police, and the event's organizers had been arrested. Ultimately, the man responsible for the tent, Erkan Kara, was put on trial for violating Article 301 of the Turkish constitution, which makes it a crime to insult the "Turkish identity" or state institutions, including the armed forces. Kara faced 1-3 years in prison.
Dickinson accompanied Kara's lawyer to court and submitted a letter taking sole responsibility for the artwork. Outside court he held up this collage…
Good Boy
The authorities promptly arrested him. You can read his diaries of his 10 harrowing days in the Turkish prison, including sleep deprivation, food restriction, and a botched escape attempt, here.
Over the next 2 years there were 2 more trials, until last Friday, September 26, 2008 when he was finally acquitted. The judge ruled that there were "some insulting" elements," but the artwork "was within the limits of criticism."
Dickinson told the AP:
Michael Dickinson from his Yabanji website (yabanji is Turkish for stranger/foreigner/outsider)
This case has put a spotlight on free speech and human rights abuses in Turkey as they continue to press for EU inclusion. The judge even cited the fact that:
"This sort of art was quite normal in the European community, mentioning cartoonists in Spain and Germany, who sometimes caricatured politicians as pigs or other animals without being accused of insult.
His conclusion was that as Turkey was trying to join the European community a collage such as Dickinson's should not be held as a crime." (via Charles Thomson of Saatchi Online)
In the end, Michael Dickinson is relieved it is over and hopeful that his ordeal will enhance freedoms of other Turkish artists and writers.
I am intrigued by his work and the Stuckist Movement he is a part of. Stuckism was founded in Britain in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative. The Stuckists were rebelling against the conceptual art of the Charles Saatchi-backed Young British Artists, i.e. Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
The name Stuckism comes from a comment, made by Tracey Emin to Billy Childish, her then boyfriend, which he turned into a poem:
Your paintings are stuck,
you are stuck!
Stuck! Stuck! Stuck! ( via Wikipedia)
Micheal Dickinson founded the Istanbul Collage Stuckist Group in 2004.
BTW, did you hear Maureen Dowd was banned from the McCain "Straight Talk" plane? There is speculation that now journalists are biting their tongues to avoid a similar retribution. Just because someone isn't thrown in a Turkish prison doesn't mean our own rights to speech and dissent aren't being shredded. It is shameful.
Asleep at the Skookum Kennel Club Dog Show by Jack Lindsay (1954)
This is the last weekend to catch the To The Dogs exhibit at Presentation House Gallery in Vancouver. The show looks at the relationship between humans and canines and “reveals the diverse ways that dogs as domestic pets and wilder animals are part of society.” Dogs on leashes are welcome. Nice 🙂
Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti check Erin’s outfit before the show by Martin Parr (2001)
Sunday 5 A.M. Newsies Starting Out, Boston by Lewis Hine (1909)
