William Wegman By Molly Oskam

Basic Information William Wegman is an American photographer who takes artistic and honestly confusing pictures of his Weimaraner dogs. He was born December 2, 1943 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He went to Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and received a MFA in painting from the University of Illinois two years later. He started working with his dog at the time in the 70s, and used props and costumes to create his artwork His work was been displayed in Sonnabend Gallery in Paris and New York, Situation Gallery in London and Konrad Fisher Gallery in Dusseldorf. Wegman has also published a number of books for adults including “Man's Best Friend”, “Fashion Photographs” and “William Wegman”

“As soon as I got funny, I killed any majestic intentions in my work.”

Style and Technique To me, Wagman captures a type of photojournalistic portrait when taking photos of his dogs. He tells a story in his photos, and it may not be the most riveting one out there, but there's something. Whether its just how he came up this the idea or how he was able to get the dogs into those positions, it grabs your attention. His photos are very humorous, they combine serious art with comedy so seamlessly its hard to tell the two apart. He uses soft lighting and solid colored background to create the effect that these photos are professional and would belong in a magazine. His camera work makes the photo look sort of natural, even though there's nothing natural about it.

“I just imagined you were a camera.”

Equipment When he first began taking photos, Wegman used 20 x 24 polaroid camera which he described as “very unforgiving, a bad picture is really bad.” he hasn’t stated what he uses now, but I assume he’s move onto a more digital layout.

“I get so confused about life photography art.”

Work History He taught at the University of Wisconsin from 1968 to 1970. I believe he works as an independent artist. He has made many skit like films about his dogs Hes written and filmed for Saturday Nigh Live, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon

“My Weimaraners are perfect fashion models “My Weimaraners are perfect fashion models. Their elegant, slinky forms are covered in gray - and gray, everyone knows, goes with anything.”

Why I Picked Him I picked William Wegman because, like him, I love dogs. That’s truly the main reason I choose this artist, I love my dog more than anything, and dog people are just so strange sometimes. But once I looked into him, and learned more about his art style, my reasons changed. I admire his ability to create such confusing and hilarious art with such attention to detail and beauty. He takes a familiar theme, dogs who look like people, and turned it into his career, into something that’s shown and admired all over the world. He started out as a painter, going to college and planning to making that his career, but one day he realized that even though he loved painting, and still paints today, he had more fun just taking silly photos of his dog. And I relate to that, as someone afraid of making the wrong decision and going down the wrong path, its nice to see someone who switched his focus onto something he loved and made him happy, and made a career out of it. In conclusion, the reason I picked this photography was because of my love of dogs, and the way he created what he loved, and found an audience who understood him.

Some of His Most Famous Photos -

Some of my personal favorites -

Thank you for listening