Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the birth of the photogenic dog Fay Ray, William Wegman’s wily weimaraner that could assume nearly any position, New York’s Senior & Shopmaker Gallery is exhibiting a survey show of vintage 20 x 24 Polaroid prints from the celebrated canine’s primary period of creative modeling. Caught in a variety of comical poses, the talented Fay Ray becomes an elephant, lion, dog walker, doll, and a hypnotist’s muse on the artist’s conceptual commands.
“Fay loved to show off her ability to hold difficult positions,” states Wegman in the gallery’s online catalogue. “If the pose was too easy for her, she got bored. She required a challenge to keep her intensity. You could see it in her eyes.”
William Wegman and Fay is on view at Senior & Shopmaker Gallery through January 15.
Click through below for a gallery of images.
William Wegman, Walker, 1990, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery
Comments (12)
Yes she is. WW and Fay (And Man Ray) made me lust after weimaraners my whole life until I was lucky enough to get my own 5 yrs ago.
Fay and Man Ray were both extremely photogenic, but I’d say Fay wins over Man Ray. She was a natural beauty…such a star.
My God, is Wegman the worst artist ever?
[...] It’s the 25th anniversary of the birth of the photogenic dog Fay Ray, William Wegman’s wily weimaraner. more… [...]
Photogenic? Or just a good, behaved dog that let’s Wegman put stuff all over him?
In response to Phyllis Stein’s question. He is not “the” worst, but he is in the competition. He is a potential winner for the Walter & Margaret Keane award. In 25 years, hasn’t he found any new ideas? Once again, the joke is on us.
Ms. Stein: Context please. Ad hoc slams not allowed. Define good artist and provide examples, if you can. Greg — The Keanes? Not in the same universe. Even among dog-subject artists such as Landseer, Wegman is superb. But he’s so much more than a dog-subject artist. Dog is to Wegman as paint is to, say, de Kooning. And you’re apparently not aware of Wegman’s paintings, collages, drawings, and videos — a body of first-rate work spanning nearly fifty years.
It’s perfectly OK not to like an artist’s art — go ahead, broadcast how little taste and perception you possess — but you two have made the self-wounding mistake of thinking that your opinion actually matters.
[...] Artable is a series about highfalutin arty stuff that kids and parents can enjoy together. When searching for our first Artable artist, William Wegman immediately came to mind. Walker, 1990, via Flavorwire [...]
Good points Tom, but isn’t a lot of what you just said opinion? So aren’t you also making the self-wounding mistake of thinking that your opinion actually matters too? I mean especially that last paragraph, that was nothing but opinion.
You and Phyllis are so alike…
Well my dog is the second most photogenic dog in the world.
[...] View a gallery of Wegman’s images here [...]
Never occurred to me that Wegman was playing ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ with us, by pulling the wool over our eyes! No, he was ahead of us with a good idea and the creativity to put it together and provide us with fun, elegant, quirky, intriguing photographs that have given pleasure to millions (from young and old) and not just to a small core of elitist artists.If you have a problem with being commercial, it’s your problem. Please keep the images coming Mr.Wegman, many of us are panting for more.(The Wei is the Veruschka of the world of models.)
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