26 August 2009

The ART of dog grooming


Earlier this week, when I posted an item expressing my dismay and disapproval of most "modern art," I was (politely) taken to task by some readers for being so blind to the varieties and innovative aspects of art, and for "failing to take it on its own terms."

I'm a quick learner. Today I encountered the pictures above in a gallery of seventeen photos of groomed poodles. I had intended to blog the item as a ridiculous display of garish monstrosities that is utterly demeaning to the intrinsic beauty of these noble creatures.

But I didn't do that. I read the article. And discovered that this is... wait for it... ART!!
At first glance they look like pandas, buffalos and camels, but these are all poodles that have been hilariously sheared and coloured in the name of art...

Amazingly it takes just two hours for the creative groomers to carve their masterpieces of out of dog's coats and add props as finishing touches...

The artistic owners - almost entirely women - colour their beloved dogs with powdered paint sprayed on using blow pens which is non permanent...

"I think these girls must just love the artistry that's involved."
These are masterpieces, commissioned by "artistic owners." I'm learning. I should also have blogged Paris Hilton's $300K doghouse as another artistic accomplishment rather than retching and passing on the item.

I'm learning. Just look at that adorable #3 above - she even has little butterflies hovering around her butt. Isn't that just precious? (Last week I would have missed the finer points of this artwork.)

Next I'm going to study up on tattoos and body modification...

15 comments:

  1. OK. I've never made a comment before - but!- that is funny!

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  2. "Art" like the Rauschenberg isn't meant of course to be ooh'ed and ahh'ed over...but de Kooning himself would surely admire the triple play of hucksterism:
    -R. acquired the deKooning item cheaply (or stole it)
    -he destroys his competition's 'oevre' by erasing it and re-brands it his own
    -he retains the intellectual property rights while doing virtually no work.
    Simply profound as far as being prophetic...he would do well on today's Wall St.

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  3. I agree with you, Stan. This is not art, it's degrading to the animals, and speaks very poorly for both owners and groomers.

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  4. I hate seeing stuff like this.

    I'm not a rabid animal rights person but good grief, this just bothers me.

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  5. I agree with previous comments, it is simply wrong for people to treat their pets like that. Pets are NOT inanimate objects that you own like a slave and are allowed to do anything you please to them. While this is not physical cruelty and I'm sure many dogs would much rather be treated that way and not how they are treated now, it still speaks very badly of their owners that they think it is reasonable for them to treat their pets like that.

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  6. It's only a small step from what's been done to those pets to what some people are doing to their kids:

    http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html

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  7. As a relatively new poodle owner (the pup is 6 months old) this kind of stuff really bothers me. People get the idea that this is what poodles are about instead of high energy mud loving goofballs that just happen to be hypoallergenic.

    I mean, sure at first glance they do some impressive stuff. But then you realize that the animal under all that dye probably would be happier sprinting around the yard with a tennis ball in his mouth.

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  8. Very disrespectful to the dogs.

    CCL

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  9. These dogs are probably much better cared for than the millions of poor dogs tied up in the yard or stuck in the house all day. Someone actually enjoys their animals and then they are, um, treating them like slaves?

    I'll give you a hint, the dog does not care. All they know is that they are cared for and loved.

    And the tywkiwdbi commentary on art is missing its mark, you are just showing yourself to be a blogger/luddite (oxymoron?). You don't have to "get" all art, but you also don't need to put them down. I am sure you are into some things that people could poo-poo all day as incredibly stupid. But it's still all just a waste of time. Just enjoy what you enjoy.

    P.S. - That Buffalo Poodle is awesome!

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  10. @DubyaD - A "Luddite" is a person who hates/fears/opposes technology, so you will need a different epithet to describe me.

    I would certainly agree with your suggestion that there are lots of things that I'm "into" that others would find contemptible. ["poo-poo" by the way is excrement; I'm sure you meant "pooh-pooh"].

    But I will continue to "put things down" when they bother me. That's one of the satisfactions of blogging. It's not a waste of my time; if it's a waste of yours, just pass over those things and find things you enjoy.

    :.)

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  11. The luddite comment was intended as a joke, sigh, computer text has no soul.

    And touche, but my joy is in helping people to not complain about things too much. Teach them to enjoy life better, kind of like giving a guy a fish vs. teaching him to fish for himself... and then not criticizing his fishing style, I guess.

    Please show me the dictionary with pooh-pooh in it. :)

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  12. "Please show me the dictionary with pooh-pooh in it. :) "

    Well, let's start with the OED - pg 1111 in my compact edition: "to express contempt or disdain for." "to make light of, dismiss as unworthy of notice." [ciations to the early-1800s, etymology presumably onomatopoietic of a puff of air].

    My Random House is from 1983, pg 1118 pooh-pooh - "to express contempt or disdain for; dismiss lightly."

    It's also in Wiktionary, citing Dickens: "When he went abroad with Dombey and was chasing that vagabond up and down France, J. Bagstock would have pooh-pooh'd you—would have pooh-pooh'd you, Sir, by the Lord!"

    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pooh-pooh

    and also citing Thackery and the London Review of Books.

    Enough?

    :.)

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  13. this is just silly groomers having fun, btw its a yearly competition, its not like they are leaving the dogs like this to walk around their daily lives as buffalos and lollipops. the people who participate in these competitions are pet pamperers and love their dogs to the extreme.
    if you really think this is cruel then you have never seen the horrible things that people can do to animals.

    also many things have been called art that are far less creative or artistic then this.

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  14. I dont care what yall say thats just plain stinkin cute.

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