William Wegman (photographer)

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Photograph of William Wegman.
Photograph of William Wegman.
William Wegman's Dressup Batty
William Wegman's Dressup Batty

William Wegman (b. 1943 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an art photographer famous for his soulful compositions involving his Weimaraner dogs in various costumes and poses. Originally intending to pursue a career as a painter, Wegman received a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1967.

While teaching at California State University, Long Beach Wegman acquired the first and most famous of the dogs he photographed. He named the Weimaraner Man Ray after the artist and photographer. Man Ray became so popular that the Village Voice named the dog "Man of the Year" in 1982. A subsequent dog was given the name Fay Ray (a play on the name of actress Fay Wray).

On January 29, 1992, Wegman appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and showed a video clip of "Dog Duet," his 1975 short of Fay and Man Ray slowly and mysteriously peering all around. Wegman explained that he had created the odd video by moving a tennis ball around, off camera, riveting the dogs' attention.[1]

Wegman's photos are in the permanent collections at the Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Wegman's photos and videos have also appeared in books, advertisements, films, and on the television programs Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live. In 2006, Wegman's work will be featured in a retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, and the Addison Gallery. The William Wegman exhibition, Funney/ Strange, will open at the Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, Ohio; on the Ohio State University campus)beginning Sept 28 and running until Dec 10 of 2007. [http//:www.wexarts.org]

Contents

[edit] On Sesame Street

Wegman's dogs first appeared on Sesame Street in 1989. Fay Ray starred in segments like "Old McFay Counts to 40". In February 1996, descendants Battina, Crooky, Chundo, and Chip starred in new segments based on nursery rhymes. Wegman told Entertainment Weekly, "They are only [being shot] maybe 30 seconds at a time. The rest of the time they're sitting around, rather blase about life."[1]

Segments include:

  • "Old McFay Counts to 40", 1989, with Fay Ray as Old McFay.
  • "Little Miss Muffet", 1996, with Crooky as Little Miss Muffet.
  • "Jack and Jill", 1996, with Crooky as Jill, and Chundo as Jack.
  • "Jack Sprat", 1996, with Chundo as Mrs. Sprat, and Chip as Jack; Wegman notes this is the first time his dogs have played characters not their gender.

[edit] Filmography

This list is incomplete, but a work in progress.

  • Dog Duet (1974)
  • Dog Baseball (1986)
  • Blue Monday '88 (1989) (New Order Music Video)
  • Alphabet Soup (1995)
  • The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold (1996, screened at Sundance)[2]
  • Front Porch (1999)
  • Farm Days
  • Fay
  • How Do You Get to MoMaQns?
  • Milk/Floor (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Stomach Song (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Randy's Sick (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Pocketbook Man (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Talking Fish (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Out and In (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Rage and Depression (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Massage Chair (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Crooked Finger/Crooked Stick (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Deodorant (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Growl (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Spelling Lesson (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Drinking Milk (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Starter (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Bad Movies (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • House for Sale (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")
  • Horseshoes (released on "Selected Video Works 1970-78")

[edit] Public art

[edit] End materials

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Baldwin, Kristen. "Dressed to the canines", Entertainment Weekly, 23 February 1996., through EBSCOhost.

[edit] External links

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