Puppies, by William Wegman (Hyperion Press, 1997, 96 pages, $24.95)
Classic Coffee Table
Everyone has coffee table books. What happens to yours? Do
they get covered up with magazines, newspapers, other books so you eventually
forget they are there, hidden in the bottom of the pile? Of course, you meant
to look at the coffee table book photos often and eventually even finish the
book, drinking a cup of coffee, feet up on the table – but life always
interferes, right?
Wrong!
Even William Wegman non-fans will be converted with this
early book and become inspired to look more closely into his work which now
includes calendars, notecards, videos, even a sculpture (Portland, OR). This
book, Puppies, will stay on the top
of your coffee table pile to gaze upon often, and to open.
In The Beginning
Wegman took home a ‘Weim’ (weimeraner) puppy and immediately
took a photo of little Man Ray (this first photo actually appears in the book)
that started it all – a national career that has lasted more than 20 years, in
TV and in academia, back and forth across the country.
Little Man Ray taught Wegman all about patience, laughter,
creativity and more.
Next came Fay Ray, followed by her litter, and even more
puppies – three generations of puppies in all, and each one different.
My absolute favorite set of four photos is titled, Rocks and
Stones. As you know, puppies (and babies) can fall asleep anywhere so Wegman
puts a few puppies on a beach of rocks the same color as the puppies. It is up
to you to find the puppies and, since this is sometimes classified as a
children’s book, I bet you will be slower to find the pups than your little human.
Puppies is More than Just Photos
Puppies follows
Wegman’s litters through their first few weeks but is more than just adorable
still photos (puppies sleeping) or ‘flying’ or running or piling up (on each
other in puppy piles) or with-simple-props photos. Photos are small to full-page or larger, the best combination to prevent monotony.
Wegman is also a fascinating writer, one I would read more
words by. A typical two-page spread may contain four different sizes of fonts
with a long and large sentence following on the next page but the words take
you into the world of not only puppies but also into the world of a man
learning about loving puppies. And you learn, vicariously, how to help a
mom-dog deliver, how anxious she becomes if you take one out of her sight, how
she cares for her new family and teaches them to be independent.
We usually get our puppies at about age 8 weeks: in Puppies, you can experience the fun you
missed.
I have never been a Wegman-fan until now, primarily because
I don’t think dressing dogs up is fun. However, Wegman’s work of “just puppies”
in different poses changed my mind. Some photos are outside, some are prop-driven,
some are just puppies. I am now going to seek out his calendars and especially
his children’s books.
Words
I especially love the photo captions, nearly all one-word
captions that are simply perfect. There are none that I could come up with to
top his photo captions, and in just one word!
If you can get your hands in this Wegman book, you will be
profoundly delighted. If you can’t, try another Wegman work.
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