Dogs have been a central part of William Wegman’s life and art for over fifty years. His first collaborator was the camera-loving Weimaraner Man Ray, who was an active protagonist in many of Wegman’s early videos, shot in his New York studio in the 1970s. These videos often revolve around a single idea or proposition, voiced by the artist, speaking directly to camera.
The exhibition at CAST brings together a selection of these wryly comedic single-take video works, shot between 1972 and 1973, with two longer works by Wegman. Man Ray, Man Ray, 1978, is a parody documentary, in which the narrative slides humorously between biographical details relating to the Dada and Surrealist artist Man Ray, and those belonging to Man Ray, the dog. Around the Park, 2007, offers a deadpan observation of a full cast of Weimaraners taking on the roles of regular park goers and workers in Madison Square Park, New York.
William Wegman’s work is deeply rooted in conceptualism, and his early videos feel closely allied to the work of artists such as Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman, whose work came to prominence in the exhibition When Attitudes Become Form, curated by Harald Szeemann in 1969. In these short films, Wegman guides the viewer to look intently at the simplest actions and objects, making often humorous connections that invite us to think differently about things. It is therefore unsurprising that, as well as gallery works, Wegman often produced segments for the popular children’s television show Sesame Street and has also produced a number of children’s books, some of which will be available to enjoy at CAST Café during the exhibition.