America’s First Art Show For Dogs Waggingly Successful!
Acclaimed art critic Jessica Dawson loves to take her little Morkie Rocky with her to appreciate the finer things a city offers–like art galleries. Dawson said she found that Rocky didn’t necessarily love some of the ‘must-see’ pieces he’d see, but instead was able to appreciate characteristics about some of the art that typically would go overlooked.
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Dawson says she thought that maybe…just maybe, man’s best friend might have a few things to say about art appreciation as well, and said it was enchanting to see how Rocky’s sniffer was able to snout out some of the finest artwork New York had to offer.
This motivated Jessica to curate (with Rocky’s assistance, of course) a collaboration of 10 local artists called dOGUMENTA. Dawson said in February when she announced the project that she felt art was best viewed with curious minds that were fearless and not particularly concerned about trends. The artists were encouraged to ignore limitations and go with their guts, which resulted in artwork like triangle-shaped doggy pools and silhouettes of dogs that magically ‘barked’ when people walked by.
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Dawson felt the play on “Documenta” was a subtle reference to the modernity that this show shared, and even though there was a little bit of ‘arffing’ around with it, she hopes that it provided a really interactive, engaging art experience that was pooch friendly too. She hopes that the dOGUMENTA movement sparks conversations between humans and their furry friends, and to really see what the artistic preferences the special species that is dog has to offer.
The debut exhibit was this weekend at Brookfield Place’s waterfront and was a free exhibit. Dawson hopes that the wild success will encourage more communities to bring dOGUMENTA to them.
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