The Dog Days
I was running errands when I came across a life size dogman eating spaghetti with his hands. This sculpture sat in the window of the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, and it was as messy as it was beautiful.
Curious, I stepped inside and encountered a wild and grandiose scene. It was as though I had walked into a picture, a perfect snapshot of a wonderfully debaucherous dinner. Ornate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, elaborate paintings framed the walls, and in the center of the room sat a dinner party of dogmen. Well, most of the dogmen were sitting, with the exception of a few. One in particular hung from a chandelier over the table, frozen in what seemed to be a drunken performance.
The table was covered in a variety of beautifully sculpted foods and desserts, each of which donned a small dog face of their own. In fact, everything, from paintings to books to photographs, were skillfully made to be dog related. This summary does not even begin to describe the wonderful experience that is Dog Show #1 by Stephen Morrison.
I’m sure you're asking “Why dogs?” This question was answered in an essay by Morrison’s friend and fellow artist, Emma Sulkowicz.
“He said that dogs are not bound by social conventions or crippling bouts of self-awareness. Unable to do otherwise, they express themselves freely. He's particularly inspired by the way they show joy…He went on to describe the way that dogs become reckless when they're desperate, which brought to mind the way we had behaved (and still behave now and then) as young adult coming of age in New York City. The late nights, parties both fancy and trashy, experimentation with identities, friendships, drugs, alcohol, ideologies, and beliefs--we were hungrily searching for something unclear what it was that we craved. Maybe, when a dog squeals or acts out, it's not so much the treat that it wants as it is to hear, "Good boy."”
I had a chance to interview Stephen about his dinner party exhibition and his relationship with food. Here is what he said.
What obstacles did you encounter while working on Dog Show # 1?
The first obstacle was that I had never made anything that big. All my work up until that point was table sized or something that you could easily carry in your hand. I had never made a life sized body before and I didn’t know what materials to use. I kind of had to crowdsource and ask “How do I make this?” I'm lucky to have had a lot of resources and working artists to turn to.
I had to do a lot of research on how we could make these sculptures. The first few dogs sitting around the table were more experiments and then it took until the fourth or fifth one before I realized how to make them. There was a three month period where I didn't really know what I was doing. Now, I can do them pretty quickly. That was the big hurdle.
Also, because it was my first show, I didn't have a lot of experience with laying out a show or designing it. Lucien helped me a lot with the curation and design. So that was another hurdle that I got a lot of help with.
There was a moment in which I was like “I don't think I can do this. I don’t know what I’m doing.” But it worked out in the end.
What does food mean to you?
A lot of it actually is connected with my husband who is an amateur chef. Before I met him, I didn't really think about food. I would eat tuna out of a can, it wasn't really a consideration for me. Since then, however, food has become such a big part of my life, especially in my home life and my relationship
It’s become something much more emotional to me and holds much more meaning to me. My husband will cook a meal for me and it's about our relationship and about care. Also he's French, so he has a different relationship with food. I've learned a lot about the pleasure of eating and the pleasure of making very good food and paying attention to it.
The dinner party was kind of based on our relationship as well. Food is really tied in with the dinner party, I was making the food dogs seen on the table long before I even thought of the show.
What foods do you associate with joy, or any particular emotion for that matter?
I worked on my show for a year, and my studio was right next to my apartment. So throughout the day, I would come home and rest my body. I snacked on food all the time. I'm a big snacker, much to Lucien’s chagrin. I grew up just eating snacks all the time. So I eat dried mango every single day, especially over the last year. I always eat it when I'm in bed relaxing or decompressing a little bit in the studio. I associate that with taking a break.
What’s your favorite food and why?
It changes. I think my favorite food right now is curry zucchini that Lucien, my husband makes. It's chicken, curry, and zucchini into this saucy thing. I don't know the terminology of food very well, but it’s delicious. I don't know why it’s my favorite food. Lucien goes through phases of cooking things, and I fall in love with whatever he cooks several times over. I think that’s just season therapy for me.
The curry zucchini is also very comforting. It kind of reminds me of the saucy food I ate growing up. We all have a soft spot for our mothers cooking, and I think this curry is something very similar. It’s a saucy bowl of food and warmth.