The Gazette

 Whenever I bring up that I'm in a class called Dogs in Art, people always ask if I've seen that painting with the dogs playing poker.  The painting in question is called A Friend in Need, by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. It is universally recognizable as a sign of bad taste. Coolidge had a background as a commercial artist; he also painted those silly cutouts you put your head through at carnivals. These things The poker dogs are the epitome of kitsch, art that is commercialized, tacky, and appeals to the masses. I was reminded of that in the video about Wegman's art where he criticizes one of his photos that shows dogs wearing sunglasses.  Wegman doesn't like this picture because he feels that dogs in sunglasses is overdone and kitschy; it's the sort of thing you would see in a funny calendar, not a book of fine art. But all of Wegman's photos depict dogs wearing clothes. What makes his work different?    I would say that this isn't kitsch because there'...

Darby hears an interesting noise Going to see all of the dogs in their kennels made me feel like a celebrity. Everyone was staring at me with the world's saddest, biggest eyes. There were so many adorable dogs, but Darby and I really hit it off. I knew he was the right dog for me because he didn't jump up or bark when I walked past. He was very polite and sniffed my hand like a perfect gentleman. He also has the coolest eyes. Darby has heterochromia, meaning he has one blue eye and one brown eye. I think this gives him a distinctive look, which will definitely be a part of my representation.  A volunteer put him on a leash and we went outside to take pictures. Darby was not a very good model. He was very focused on sniffing things, so I couldn't get a good shot of his face until he was in his kennel again.  Although he was not very photogenic, he had the sweetest personality. He was nice to the other dogs and loved to be outside. His favorite thing to do is find and follow ...