Our original inspiration for this project was dog.art, a similar event held in May 2013 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Walking through an upscale shopping
center in Sao Paulo last year, I saw a collection of amazing dog statues. Of course, details were in Portuguese, but I was able to distinguish a few words
and later found their website dog.art.br. Upon returning to Sao Paulo in the spring of 2014, I contacted and met the Director of Sciacco Gallery and of the event, Daniel Sciacco, with the intention of purchasing one of the statues.
However, after further investigation of a similar statewide event in Texas, Paws for a Purrpose 2014, I decided this concept would be perfect for Nashville and Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary! Sciacco generously agreed to assist us in any way possible and he will be attending our October 10 auction and bringing along several dogs from his best artists to help Old Friends.
Per the dog.art website, “The dog was chosen because, although it is present in our lives and known as ‘man's best friend,' we live in a society where there are large numbers of abandoned animals. One goal of this project is to draw the attention of people and media to the need for attitudes to change this reality; educating children and young people to learn to love and respect animals; and presenting to adults the many ways to help, contributing to the building of a more harmonious and just world.
Art movements related to customization of objects and sculptures of animals combined with our love for animals and our connection with art, led us to the dog.art project. The first known exhibition similar to what we have today was the Lions in Zurich 1986, when more than 100 sculptures of lions in different poses and colors were scattered along the main avenue, Bahnhofstrasse, commemorating the 2000th year anniversary of the city. The customized cows appeared first in the world in 1998, also in Zurich.”
center in Sao Paulo last year, I saw a collection of amazing dog statues. Of course, details were in Portuguese, but I was able to distinguish a few words
and later found their website dog.art.br. Upon returning to Sao Paulo in the spring of 2014, I contacted and met the Director of Sciacco Gallery and of the event, Daniel Sciacco, with the intention of purchasing one of the statues.
However, after further investigation of a similar statewide event in Texas, Paws for a Purrpose 2014, I decided this concept would be perfect for Nashville and Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary! Sciacco generously agreed to assist us in any way possible and he will be attending our October 10 auction and bringing along several dogs from his best artists to help Old Friends.
Per the dog.art website, “The dog was chosen because, although it is present in our lives and known as ‘man's best friend,' we live in a society where there are large numbers of abandoned animals. One goal of this project is to draw the attention of people and media to the need for attitudes to change this reality; educating children and young people to learn to love and respect animals; and presenting to adults the many ways to help, contributing to the building of a more harmonious and just world.
Art movements related to customization of objects and sculptures of animals combined with our love for animals and our connection with art, led us to the dog.art project. The first known exhibition similar to what we have today was the Lions in Zurich 1986, when more than 100 sculptures of lions in different poses and colors were scattered along the main avenue, Bahnhofstrasse, commemorating the 2000th year anniversary of the city. The customized cows appeared first in the world in 1998, also in Zurich.”
Examples of statues from the 2013 Sao Paulo auction
