A dog’s perspective

It is just over a year since Beguidedbyart was launched and today’s post is a result of three changes that happened during the ‘lost COVID year’.

The first was establishing a forum (blog) for the circulation of ideas about art in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. The second was taking in a COVID canine companion. The third was endless hours of television consumption which resulted in subscriptions to paid televised streaming services – including Disney+.

Thinking about my inquisitive, determined and engaging hound – he likes virtually all living things (insects are particularly fascinating); he is intrigued by loud noises, construction sites and workmen (trainspotting is a real highlight); and his daily journeys into the world have amassed an impressive collection of ‘rocks, paper and sticks’ – I wondered why he does not seem interested in our art-filled house.

As I watched our dog distractedly and repeatedly bump his nose into Mikala Dwyer’s large, suspended ‘Earring for the ceiling’ and then plonk himself down in front of Jon Campbell’s placard ‘Not my cup of tea’, I realised we probably don’t share a similar art aesthetic. Despite this, he lies at my feet (or if my desk chair is vacant, sits on it) while I write about art.

On the Disney+ site (as well as ‘Lady and the Tramp’, ‘101 Dalmatians’ and ‘Bolt’) , there is an American comedy television series – ‘Dog with a Blog’ – which delivered 69 episodes over three seasons. In this cliché-ridden, but heart-warming series, the family pet dog is able to speak and provides a commentary on the world around him.

Today I have turned my computer over to Marty – my Murray River Retriever – and he gives his recommendations for dogs interested in the current NGV Triennial. Marty ‘writes’: First a ‘bark out’ to other dogs whose owners ‘bang on’ about the benefits of art. I imagine my fellow furry friends prefer the smells and sounds of the great outdoors and the chance to ‘rough and tumble’ with mates in a park. But, as the world is full of new (and potentially interesting) things, here are my thoughts on the local public art institution’s exhibition.

As a ‘bird dog’ I was instantly engaged by, and immediately captivated with, Julian Opie’s animated specimens on the median strip outside the National Gallery of Victoria. Normally, I have to content myself with chasing after magpies and pigeons, but Opie has provided at least SIX different and arresting local species – most at ground level. Birds are annoyingly ‘flighty’ and when I stalk one, they take off just as I pounce. Opie’s animations gave me a chance to get ‘up close and personal’ with some new potential victims. Sadly, they don’t smell ‘birdy’ and I couldn’t manage to get them into my mouth – but this installation of ‘thoughts of food’ is ‘food for thought’.

I am also a ‘water dog’ and the entrance to the NGV, past the flowing water wall, provided a ‘licking good taste’ of things to come – and was an appropriate lead in to Glenda Nicholl’s ‘Miwi Milloo’ (Good Spirit of the Murray River). As you can tell by my breed, I hail from that river and Nicholl’s work reminded me of the close association we have had with the local population and their fishing endeavours over time. I could visualise myself working in tandem with the First Nations people – they would get the fish and I would round up the ducks. The inclusion of the feathered fishing lures was particularly good – I scavenge feathers on my outings – and the thought of wrestling with the netting gets a ‘two paws up’ from me. Sadly I couldn’t reach the woven work to explore it ‘in depth’ …

In the garden, there is another ‘river work’ by the French artist, JR, ‘Homily to country‘ based on the degradation of the Darling River. Apart from the fact that humans are already big enough, this just made me feel sad and overwhelmed by the enormity of things to deal with. I was relieved to find that Opie has a fountain outside in the garden and this encouraged me to … relieve myself.

Back inside, I was delighted with the sculptures by the Japanese artist, Tomoaki Suzuki. In my view, Suzuki has appropriately down-scaled humans and made them more accessible and ‘dog friendly’ – it is about time to redress the size imbalance. Big is not always better and it is great when an artist recognises that the world needs to be seen from different vantage points. As I sniffed the fruit wood sculptures – the signs said no touching (which I understood to mean that licking or chewing was probably out) – I fantasised about what it would be like going on a walk or living with the range of people that the artist has met in his neighbourhood. Some look scary, and a few pretentious – but others, like this cool dude, could be a great mate.

At ‘dog level’, the world is very very big and I was really impressed with BTVV’s project ‘Walls 4 Sale’. It is about time humans understood what it is like when things are ‘out of perspective’. The youngsters and I enjoyed things ‘at our level’ and it was interesting  to see the bemused/confused expressions of adults when things are not as they should be.

It was also fun to watch humans struggling with working their way through, Alicja Kwade’s ‘WeltenLinie’. Dogs are used to odd angles, mirrored surfaces, random objects, and needing to find a way through unusual spaces. Humans could learn a thing or two from us.

What a joy to then find Porky Hefer’s sculptures. This South African artist sounds like he should be making a range of dog chew treats – and in a way he has. Walking the streets, we dogs are both excited and perplexed by the amount of rubbish we encounter. Much of it is fastfood wrapping, straws, or discarded coffee cups. The smells, tastes and textures from these are magic – although my human has taken to shouting ‘snout out’ when I pick up something especially yucky.  Hefer has imagined what creatures might evolve in the sea from exposure to this rubbish. From my point of view, I hope for dogs it happens on land.

One of the things that I commonly find on my walks are facemasks. If I had wanted to start a new collection, I would have over 100 from the past two months. It seems as if humans discard them at any opportunity. But I haven’t seen anything as beautiful, exotic or ‘tasty’ as those by English creative, Alice Potts. Her ‘Dance Biodegradable Personal Protective Equipment – post COVID facemasks’ made from food waste and dyed with flowers sound delicious. If only I could try one …

There is one last alarming and depressing  artwork which I will include – ‘Extinctions’ – by the Milan-based group, Carnovsky. It was initially great to see so many friends from the animal kingdom but then, as the colours changed, I realised that I was seeing friends no longer alive or in danger of imminent death. There are more than 35,000 species threatened with extinction. What a downer! Fortunately, no dogs were visible but I feel somewhat close to the Tasmanian Devil who is at risk. No wonder dogs might re-consider looking at art.

As I sauntered around, I was aware that dogs don’t feature in contemporary art. And, then I found one. It is small, but there it was, a kindred spirit – a dog lifting his leg in Siji Krishnan’s ‘Father’s portrait’. I was so excited that I felt the need to re-visit Opie’s fountain and replicate the image.

So, my take on dogs and art. The exhibition raised lots of questions and there were things I could relate to. I would give it ‘three wags of my tail’ out of a possible four. I suspect that my humans included ‘arty’ in my name with the hope that I will embrace contemporary art. Sadly for them it won’t replace parks and play with friends. Although … I have heard that in the last Triennial the NGV had some works by Sissel Tolaas  – an artist who came to Melbourne and created a ‘smell landscape’ of the city with 20 unique scents. If that work is ‘on sniff’, I might give the gallery another chance. In the meantime, if they want ‘art appreciation’ at home, my humans might consider smearing the sculptures with peanut butter.