William Wegman
William Wegman was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts on December 2, 1943. He graduated in 1965 from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston with a Bachelors in Fine Art. He taught at multiple universities such as the University of Wisconsin from 1968-1970 and California State College just for one year in 1970. In the early 70’s his work started to appear in galleries and museums internationally.
Wegman is best known for the photographs of his Weimaraner dogs. His first Weimaraner named Man Ray was the initial subject of his collections of polaroids, photographs, and videotapes. After Man Ray passed away he obtained another dog named Fay Ray and began another collection of the above media. He continued to use his dogs and their offspring for multiple generations in his work to present day with his dogs Flo & Topper in New York and Maine.
His photography works included a children’s book series inspired by his dog’s acting such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Mother Goose, and more. He also has adult inspired works like Man’s Best Friend, The New York Times Bestseller Puppies, and William Wegman: Paintings.
In 2018, Wegman gave to The Metropolitan Museum of Art 174 short videos of his entire career from 1970-1999. The exhibition Before/On/After: William Wegman and California Conceptualism was an overview of 1970’s conceptual art as it was being made and developed in Southern California. These videos were in addition to photographs and drawings by Wegman himself.
Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qyBJmmyDssNA6EKZg29IS0DXZhUdbb47rNcVHAH9Pjg/edit?usp=sharing
Sources:
https://williamwegman.com/home/
http://www.artnet.com/artists/william-wegman/
https://fraenkelgallery.com/exhibitions/william-wegman-cinderella-little-red-riding-hood
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2018/william-wegman