22 Sep For the Font- and Dog-Obsessed

A fun diversion was published by William Wegman, the artist whose iconic portraits of his dogs Man Ray and Fay Ray brought the Weimaraner dog breed to new heights of popularity in the 1980s. In mid September, Wegman posted on Facebook a short video of his latest crew of Weimeraners patiently modeling letterforms. Up to four dogs stretch, nose to tail, and curl their lanky bodies to create the letterforms as Wegman recites the alphabet.

Wegman has a long history of featuring his dogs in videos. One of his first productions from 1975, Dog Duet, shows Man Ray and Fay Ray oddly staring about the studio space with great intensity. Only at the very end of the short film does Wegman reveal his trick: a tennis ball, moving about off camera, to the great interest of the dogs. An earlier film clip, Spelling Lesson (1973) has Wegman correcting Man Ray’s spelling. It’s an intriguing peek into the wonderful relationship between the artist and his muse.