william wegman

King of canine conceptualism

William Wegman started out in the 1970s as part of the West Coast art gang, working alongside Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha, but the American artist and photographer is best known today for his beautifully set up photographs – often funny, sometimes surreal – of his Weimaraner dogs. For Wallpaper* he created a lushly coloured 21-page photo story that featured his Weimaraners Topper and Flo posing with iconic works of American design.

‘I’m like a stand-up comic who takes suggestions from the audience,’ Wegman explained. ‘If somebody comes in with a bulldog and some other prop, I’ll find something to do with it.’

Wegman also photographed the Pennsylvania studio of the late furniture designer George Nakashima, Flo and Topper in tow. ‘What struck me about working with my dogs and the Nakashima furniture is how alike they are,’ he said. ‘Dog and furniture blend together and at times become one and the same.’ The images culminated in the book William Wegman: Dogs on

Furniture, published by Piasa Editions in collaboration with Wallpaper*.

Wegman’s renown has only grown since, with touring retrospectives in Korea, Spain and Japan. Almost certainly the only major contemporary artist who has appeared on both Saturday

Night Live and Sesame Street, Wegman demonstrates that high art can also be instantly accessible.