Art & Exhibitions
Watch These Adorable Shelter Dogs Paint Like Jackson Pollock
An exhibition of the canine canvases opens May 9.
A group of shelter dogs have a new lease on life, thanks to their previously untapped artistic potential. In perhaps the most adorable art project of all time, the Canismo art campaign is raising awareness for the plight of Brazil’s stray dogs at the Procure1Amigo shelter with a gorgeous slow motion film of paint-covered dogs splattering canvases with brightly colored pigment.
In the grand tradition of painting animals (see Retired From the Racetrack, Horse Finds Second Career as a Painter, Would You Pay $40 For a Painting by Vincent van Goat?, and Indian Elephant Who Paints Gets Gallery Show), the homeless dogs have created 18 works of art, each using a different combination of colors.
As each dog is doused in a steady stream of colored paint, they predictably begin to shake furiously, artfully spraying nearby canvases in their best Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” impersonation. (See Mural Protests Taylor Swift’s Global Welcome Ambassador Appointment.) Who knew that man’s best friend could emulate Jackson Pollock so well?
“The shake of the paint reveals a remarkable exercise of freedom, where each drop of ink bears the stain of prejudice,” reads a statement on the Canismo website.
The mixture of colors splashed across each canvas reflect the mixed breed backgrounds of the dogs creating the works, and the non-toxic, edible paint was created specially for the project using corn starch and food coloring.
An exhibition of the dog-created canvases opens May 9 at São Paulo’s Perestroika, with paintings and photographs available for sale. Interested parties can also apply to adopt one of the “artists,” currently including irresistible pups Lulu, Caramelo, and Zizi, all available on the Procure1Amigo shelter website.
Watch the adorable video below:
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