The dog did my homework

Dogs, often endearingly called “a human’s best friend,” are a longstanding popular subject for realistic and imaginative portrayals in art and culture.

Canines have been bred over centuries for work, play and leisure, and these aspects are represented in paintings, photographs and films throughout art history. Anthropomorphic depictions of dogs are perhaps most famously recognized via Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s paintings of dogs playing poker. The most iconic version of these paintings, Poker Game, was composed in 1894, followed by a series of 16 oil paintings in 1903. The suite of paintings was commissioned by the Brown & Bigelow publishing company to advertise cigars.

In the 1970s, William Wegman, a conceptual artist living in California, started a collaboration with his Weimaraner named Man Ray. Wegman juxtaposed Man Ray into photographic tableaux and films that exhibit the dog depicting human-like attributes and behaviors. The imagery, while humorous and offbeat, also criticizes the codification of social and cultural life. They are a reaction to banal stereotypes and structures that epitomize quotidian American life. As Wegman explains, “I liked taking order and shifting it” (Hicklin, 2019).

When Man Ray passed away in 1982, the beloved dog received the honor of being Village Voice’s “Man of the Year.” Four years later, Wegman got his next dog, Fay Ray, another Weimaraner, and the duo resumed another collaboration ensued. When Fay Ray gave birth to a litter, the puppy progeny joined the artist collective. Fays lineage has continued to contribute to the creation of photographs, paintings, films and public artworks.

In the midst of schools being closed and students and teachers meeting remotely for class, an unlikely group of scholars have started to hit the books. Students have been photographing curated scenes of their canine companions ‘doing schoolwork’ and sharing these photographs with the world. These popular compositions symbolize the surreal aspects of this moment in time and are a comforting way to alleviate some of the uncertainty that our collective faces.

The following, is a photo essay of images from social media that explore this genre of fetching academic-themed dog photography:

References, Notes, Suggested Reading: