Gone to the Dogs

Artists across the globe are redefining art by redefining their audience.

Dogs have been our friends and companions for decades, but they’ve never been able to enjoy art like we have. All of that is changing now.

Recently, an English art exhibit opened in London exclusively for the enjoyment of man’s best friend.

The gallery touts interactive displays like an open car window simulator, a ball pit that looks like a giant dog food bowl and an interesting water bowl fountain. There are also exciting things for dogs to look at, like a Frisbee tossed around on a television screen and even pieces of art colored to perfectly suit a dog’s color spectrum.

The paintings made specifically for the dogs’ enjoyment are incredibly fascinating for many reasons. For starters, they use colors in the gray-yellow-blue spectrum, so dogs can see every brush stroke on the canvas. The paintings are also scented with chicken and other meaty scents to entice the fluffy friends. All the artwork is at dog height, so the dogs can fully appreciate the masterpieces.

The exhibit, which has only been open for a limited amount of time, is hugely popular with great reviews from both dogs and humans alike. However, these positive reviews are no accident; the gallery consulted veterinarians beforehand to ensure the dogs would be mentally and physically stimulated.

Dominic Wilcox, the designer of the exhibit, made the contemporary art exhibit for dogs for the same reason contemporary art was created for humans: to elicit emotion.

“Never before has (art) been created with a view to drawing the same kind of emotions out of animals… It feels great to have created such a truly unique collection of interactive artworks for a completely new audience,” Wilcox said.

Unfortunately, the exhibit is definitely an experiment occurring halfway across the globe. Despite this, it’s exciting to think what could come next. Maybe soon walks through the park will become walks through the gallery.

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