Wurst in show
Don’t be fooled: While New York’s Madison Square Garden is gearing up for the 131st installment of the famous Westminster Dog Show, (this year’s event is set for Monday and Tuesday, February 12 and 13), the Wurstminster Dog Show, which is now online at Internet-based art space The Wurst Gallery, is showcasing pooches of a different pedigree.
Featuring 142 different dog breeds represented by 142 different artists, the show’s premise is simple: “Artists were invited to reserve a dog breed on a first come, first served basis. The only requirement was that the artist attempt to capture the look and spirit of their chosen breed in their own unique way.” The result, however, is far from ordinary. From the wooden dachsund pictured above to a silkscreened print of bloodhound dressed in Sherlock Holmes attire, each crafted canine offers a unique take on the breed of dog it represents. What’s more, all the works are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds from show will benefit the DoveLewis animal hospital in Portland, Oregon.
Equally noteworthy is the philosophy behind The Wurst itself: The online art space was founded on the belief that “art should be accessible to everyone” and that artists can reach “a larger number of people outside of their communities when their work is showcased online.” Truly collaborative in nature, The Wurst’s shows are unique in that they “grow” around a specific concept—in this case, dogs—chosen by curator Jason Sturgill and his wife, Sarah. Once an idea is selected, artists are invited to create works that build on the assigned subject matter—past shows include We Heart Gocco, a testimony to the Japanese screenprinting system, and From Russia with Love, in which participating artists turned blank sets of traditional Russian nesting dolls into delightfully nontraditional artworks.
Head to http://thewurstgallery.com/wurstminster.html to see the show or “adopt” one of the dogs for yourself.
