I stopped watching Sesame Street in the early 70’s so I missed some great segments from the later years like William Wegman’s Weimaraners baking bread. Sometimes I think his dogs look like they’re not into the whole dressing up thing, but they look like they’re having fun here, especially the dog at the end. Enjoy!
Sesame Street continues to amaze.
Via Taxing Tennessee.
I owe you all an apology, especially those who like Japanese-contemporary-dog-art-live-drawing-to-Tom-Waits exhibitions. I love them. But in the flurry of Christmas gift guides, I missed telling you about Seitaro Kuroda's Mad Dog Show at the hpgrp gallery in NYC last October.
Kuroda did a weekend-long live drawing session exploring the idea that dogs might not be that into domestication by humans, and perhaps they are mad about this. How would we know, since we are too busy obsessing over their cuteness. Kuroda produced dozens of Mad Dog drawings as he listened to the soulful songs of one of my favorite singers, Tom Waits, "whose music has been compared by the artist to barking dog."
This event sounds like perfection to me. If they had a tasty cheese platter, fresh-baked baguettes and a Shiraz served in crystal stemware, it I would consider it Nirvana, because dogs were welcome too.
So, since I can't undo letting this dog art news slip through the cracks, I am attempting to recreate it for you. First, click on the YouTube video of Tom Waits singing Ol' 55…
…then scroll down and enjoy the Mad Dogs and the photos of Kuroda at work. You might also want to pour yourself a glass of wine and snuggle up with your dog and ask him if he's mad.
I going going to put on Tom Waits: The Early Years, Vol. 2, and make some art. I feel very lucky that this is my life.
Via Moco Loco.
Remember back in January when I compared all the presidential nominees to dogs. I said that Edwards had a "Breed Identity Problem" because he was a Black Lab stuck in a Papillon's body.
Well, today I apologize to both breeds and to the dog species as a whole. Dogs are loving, loyal, and utterly honest. They don't know how to by hypocritical.
I can't say that for Senator Edwards who shows off his slick talents in this video made by his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Watch him pour on the charm and listen to her giggle as they travel on his private jet and he puts the finishing touches on a speech calling for a "moral, honest, and just America."
BTW this video is one of a series of 4 webisodes that cost his One America Committee $114,461 but were suspiciously scrubbed from his website last year. Read about the mysterious reappearing tapes here.
(Close up of adorable Papillon painting by Petcasso.)
Minnie the Magnificent, my mom and dad’s Papillon Chihuahua mix, turns eight today. I heard they’re all going out for ice cream to celebrate. (Yes, Minnie gets her own cup.) Have fun!
Warhol Minnie by my sister, Sheila Cameron.
Don’t forget to check out Minnie’s movie on YouTube.
Several months in the making, my new film Dogs in Art was a true labor of love. It was such a pleasure working so closely with all these spectacular pet portraits and charting the history of dogs in art over 5,000 years. The art and the artists were, and still are, endlessly inspiring. Hope you enjoy it!
View Dogs in Art on a "wide screen" at YouTube.
See a list of all the art (full images) and links to the artists here.
As a favor, if you'd like to leave a comment, please click on this YouTube link and leave it there. I'm moving up the charts as "Most Discussed" video in the Pets & Animals category and feeling very competitive.
P.S. Adding me to your Favorites on YouTube is also greatly appreciated. Thank you : )
P.P.S. Music is Parlez-Moi D'Amour by CharlElie Couture from The Moderns soundtrack by Mark Isham. I couldn't find it on iTunes but you can get the CD here
P.P.S. In case you haven't seen it, this film was inspired by Philip Scott Johnson's masterful "Women in Art" video blockbuster of last year. Click here to see it.
You may recall from my post about my sister Regan's second birthday, the McLaughlin clan is not afraid of taking cakes to the third dimension. But, I can speak for all of us when I say we are truly humbled by Elisa Strauss's Joey cake, a life size version of her father's Labradoodle, made in honor of her dad's 60th birthday.
Granted, Strauss is a professional, owner of Manhattan's Confetti Cakes, but that does nothing to take away from the magic of Joey in all his confectionary glory. I love that she had the foresight to film its creation for posterity, since after the party her masterpiece was surely gone. The film was edited by Lisa Stock, compressing 4 days into 4 minutes. What a great keepsake for your dog-loving and cake-loving family.
Joey beside his amazing doppelganger.
Read more about the exciting response to Strauss's Joey cake on her blog.
And thanks to my friend Garth McLean for the tip about Joey. Keep them coming!
Driving through Hollywood today, I spotted a wall covered with this this Heel poster. Hmm, did Shepard Fairey get a Chihuahua? Did Kevin McCormick of Obey The Purebreed start a wheat paste campaign? I couldn't tell at 35 mph, so I drove on. Later, I saw a huge Chihuahua silhouette painted on the side of a building. That's not graffiti, I thought, that's corporate.
Shepard Fairey poster
Obey The Chihuahua poster
by Kevin McCormick
I came home and Googled "Heel L.A." and discovered this website where a Chihuahua named Papi calls for his comrades to revolt against dog sweaters and being carried in purses.
With a little more research, I found some answers. According to ViralBlog, Disney started a viral marketing campaign a few days ago for their upcoming movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
The live action film about Chloe, a Beverly Hills Chihuahua who gets
lost in Mexico and needs help from other dogs to get back home, sounds
like Lady and The Tramp meets The Incredible Journey. And although it
is not due to be released until September 26, its YouTube video is already no. 6 on ViralBlog's top 10 viral videos of the week.
And look, influential dog bloggers like me are talking about it. Nice job, Disney, especially since the working title was South of the Border, and this was the original poster…
Cool street dog art is way better, unless Shepard Fairey and/or Obey The Purebreed have lawsuits pending. Then, I'm on their side.
5.5.08 Update: Heel posters spotted in Williamsburg, NY courtesy of Gowanus Lounge.
Update 5.17.08: Heel posters debut in Boston. Courtesy of Violentz's Flickr photostream…
Heel NYC via Michael Surtees at DesignNotes…
Update: 5.19.09: There is a hot thread about this Hillary/Heel poster by Tony Puryear over at reddit.
Highlights include:
Is the Heel/Hillary poster a poorly done rip off of Shepard Fairey's Obama poster?
Can it be a rip off when Shehard Fairey appears to be inspired by these artists?
Or perhaps Fairey found inspiration from Chinese propaganda posters…
Or the Japanese Naval Ensign…
I'll keep you posted on this intriguing nexus of dog art, pop art, politics, and propaganda. Comments welcome.
