Gandee Vasan- Dogs Days
AG Journal: Winter 2007/Isuue 46/Page 31
Identification is usually associated with humans, but what happened when this is replaced with animals? Does it still contain the same elements?
Vasan's work 'Dogs Days' captures 77 different portraits of dogs. From Dalmatians to Schnauzer's, each dog's characteristics and personalities are captured. Each shot is taken in a rather regimental framing, almost PassPort like.
This style of photography seems as though it could act as a form of doggy identification. The straight forward shoulder height framing of the dogs makes them all comparable, therefore making it easy to show differences and similarities between each dog. Each dog has different features and dimensions. By photographing the dogs straight on and also to the side, one can see all of these at different angles. This is almost the same as the technique used to photograph humans in a Mug Shot style.
I really enjoyed Vasan's work as it allowed a different element to be brought to this style of photography. Its not often that animals are photographed which made me wonder why choose dogs. Was this because its said that a dog has its own personality? or that dog often looks like its owner? It is also interesting that he chose to photograph them in the way that he did. He could easily photograph them with their owner at home, but he has totally taken them out of their environment, making them un-identifiable from anything but their breed.
Although i liked this piece of work, i felt that it was'nt unique as Vasan also did a project on Cats. This was shot in exactly the same way. This then totally takes the objective out and makes each dog or cat exactly the same... a pet.
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