"What Dogs Teach Us" Altered BookDetails: Release Date: 2007 Size: 12 x 8" Materials: discarded library book, acetate, thread, video About this book: (artist's statement) "What Dogs Teach Us" is an altered book created for the BBAC's Altered Book Exhibition in 2008. Amongst the piles of discarded books, Melissa found a leather bound book for dog training. She found this ironic because, in her experience, leather-bound books were the first to be chewed by teething puppies. She decided to use the opportunity to document her own experiences training an unruly Australian Cattle Dog named Lilly. The book was given to Lilly, then the altering process was recorded. The book was then stitched back together, incorporating acetate stills from the film and famous dog quotes. The film was project above the re-assembled book. American culture has a unique and deep love affair with Man's Best Friend. This piece was specifically created to engage the gallery's youngest viewers, but the artist was delighted to find that footage of precocious canines amuses viewers of all ages. |
