Dog Days

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It turns out that you can teach an old dog some new tricks after all. For instance, renowned photographer William Wegman -- who has made a career out of dressing his Weimaraners in cutesy-pie costumes for snapshots since the 1970s -- decided to change things up a couple of decades ago.

In the ‘90s, Wegman began posing his pooches Fay Ray and Batty with various pieces of mid-century modern furniture and décor, resulting in a few pics where the pups balance miniature figurines on their noses or stand on vintage footstools and sofas. Shot using a rare variety of Polaroid film that’s since been discontinued, the 11 photographs making up Wegman’s “A Thing or Two” exhibition were recently rediscovered by the artist after being hidden away in a crate for more than 20 years.

In the photos, which are on display at Scottsdale’s Lisa Sette Gallery through Saturday, June 25, Wegman’s dogs almost become one with the furniture, seemingly melting into the sofas, adopting the same stern postures as wooden chairs, and blending into fringe-covered end tables. Is it animal abuse? Perhaps. But that’s the price of high art.


Thursdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: June 16. Continues through June 25, 2011