Fifteen chest height ceramic dogs clanking their way around a rotating rail as limbs, tails, collars and ears smash to the floor; a loyal hound nestled beneath the stone feet of his master in Arundel Tomb; a faithful fox terrier staring down the cone of a gramophone; a performing circus of athletic pooches leaping over the white furnishings of an new wave pop band; there is no piece of art, high brow or popular, that cannot be significantly improved by the inclusion of a dog.
Joana Vasconcelos’ show ‘I Will Survive’ at London’s Haunch of Venison gallery was a masterclass in the power of canine collaboration, while the latest OK Go video shows what a little dog white can do.
From a show of wealth and status in classical portraiture to anthropomorphised pooches in a poker-playing cigar advert, dogs have been a cultural cornerstone since the cave paintings of Chauvet, over 25,000 years ago.
From Jeff Koons to Ikea, Andy Warhol to Wallmart, Henry Moore to HMV, dogs have saved me from wailing, eye-scratching boredom in art galleries and interior decoration hellholes alike.
All hail to the hound.
Nell Frizzell
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