Dog Day Afternoon

October 31, 2018

office Newsstand is hosting photographer Jean Pigozzi tomorrow, Thursday, November 1, for an evening dedicated to his new book Charles and Saatchi The Dogs.

The titular animals—and stars of the book—belong to Pigozzi, who he spent the first months of their lives photographing as they energetically played with one another around his home. The resulting images, shot in stark black and white, may look like a startling case of dog fighting at first glance. But closer inspection reveals a charmingly chaotic bond between the pets and their owner.

Following Pigozzi’s last book, ME + CO, which chronicled the last 30 years of the photographer’s life as he posed for selfies with some of the world’s coolest people, including Faye Dunaway, Iman, Andy Warhol, Jerry Hall and King Sunny Adé, Charles and Saatchi The Dogs is an ode to the way humans connect with their animals. In this case, Charles and Saatchi are more than just Pigozzi’s best friends—they’re his inspiration.

Interview by Charles Caesar

An office favorite—we profiled him in Issue 07—Pigozzi is no stranger to the creative world and has spent much of his life collecting art and working in environmental philanthropy. Ahead of tomorrow’s event, office caught up with the photographer to discuss his latest book, his hate-affair with kale and his lifetime practice. Pull up to the signing tomorrow and read our interview, below.

How are Charles and Saachi today?

Sadly, I don't know because they are in the South of France, not with me.

In the foreword of your new book, the actual Charles Saatchi writes that he would love to be reincarnated as the offspring of one of your dogs—that way he could live with you and hang out forever. I love that. So, if you had to be reincarnated as an animal, which would you pick?

Well, obviously one of my dogs, because they have a fabulous life! They have nothing to do all day long; they have a big park; they have nice people who take care of them and they don’t have a job like sniffing for bombs or guarding people. Their job is nothing—just eating, sleeping and walking around.

That sounds like the perfect schedule to me.

Yeah, it's a good job. Flexible hours.

So, you would not want to be a wild animal?

Oh no! You have to hunt for your food. Here, you get fed twice a day and even more, because when I'm there, they hang around at the dinner table and hope that someone will gonna give them something. So, a wild animal? That’s a big job because you have to hunt all day long for food, and at night, they don’t have a warm place to sleep. So, no, a wild animal would be no good.

The photographs in your new book are beautiful. They remind me of Daido Moriyama’s work with the striking black and white contrast. What made you want to shoot the project in that style?

Well, black and white is not the real world—the real world is in color. So, it adds another dimension of bizarreness as we don't see the world in black and white. And I also think shooting them in black and white made the pictures stronger. They're very graphic. I thought they were more like etchings—the blacks are more black. And I rarely take pictures in color—very rarely. 99 percent of the photographs I’ve taken have been in black and white. My world is black and white.

Do you have any other pets that you have photographed or would like to photograph in the future?

No. I always took pictures of my dogs, but these two dogs were so playful when they were kids and now, that really everyday we would spend like ten minutes together and then they would get tired of me taking pictures. Every morning around 11, we had a little show and I think they were really performing for me. Now, they're older and I tried to take some pictures but they weren't interested anymore.

Did you have to coach them to have that level of energy?

No, no they were playing really hard. I had to do nothing. They look like they're angry, but they're actually playing. So, I had nothing to do—they would do it themselves and there was no encouragement or anything. I think they even liked the flash—I think it amused them to see it.

You're also known for pioneering the celebrity selfie. Have you taken any selfies with famous people recently?

Now that I finished my other book, ME + CO, I’m a little less nervous about taking pictures, but I can't remember the last one I did. I know I missed one yesterday. There was the Italian singer, [Andrea] Bocelli but I missed him—he walked past me and I didn't react. He was across the street with like, three other guys.

Is there anyone out there that you would like to take a photograph with that you haven't yet?

I wouldn't mind Putin. And I wouldn't mind some beautiful actresses. Some of these actresses that I don't know that are very beautiful. Lady Gaga. I like Beyonce. And some of these very rough rappers if they would invite me to chill with them. I would like to take pictures of them. But if not, maybe some famous scientist that I don't know. There are always people I’m interested in.

So, ME + CO is sort of an ongoing project?

Eventually, I will do part two of the book. It took like, 20 or 30 years to do the first one.

You’re kind of like me as a photographer. I always walk around with my camera and photograph my life as it happens. There are many of us out there that do the same thing, but why do you think that is? Why do we have this compulsion to photograph our experiences? Not everyone does that.

More people are doing it now, but they do it with their iPhone. So, they photograph every meal they eat, every time their child pees, every time their dogs sniffs a piece of grass, every time a boyfriend of girlfriend puts on a bikini—they take a picture. Everytime they have a pizza, they take a picture. But the reason I always took pictures is because I’m quite dyslexic and I also have terrible handwriting, and sometimes, when I write notes I can't read what I write. So, it was a way to document my entire life.

But I’ll tell you one thing: if I go to a party and I'm not allowed to take photographs, I’m bored. That happens less and less. So, if you seek pictures with your eyes, keep on looking for something. Like, if I’m on the streets, I’m looking for something weird or different. It keeps me busy all the time.

How serious are you about kale? On Instagram you seem to really like it.

Well, I had it once and thought it was the most disgusting thing in the world. So, I decided to fight kale with all of my energy. But I was hoping that all the people who grow kale would come and say, ‘Here's a million dollars, stop speaking about kale,’ or the people who grow spinach would say, ‘Here's a million dollars, could you please promote spinach?’ But none of the above has happened.

Not yet, at least.

It's really funny because I see people in the street who say, ‘Oh hello Mr. Kale, how are you Mr. Kale?’ It's really funny—we invented something funny.

Is there any kale recipe or dish you would ever want to eat?

No way. I tried kale chips and it’s all disgusting. It should be banned. Also quinoa—that’s horrible. I don't like these fashionable things that just pop out of nowhere. Like, I don't do juicing.

What are your top two go-to foods?

Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream is number one, and a good veal milanese. But it has to be very thinly sliced.

Right. So, you have the selfie project that’s ongoing, but other than that, do you have anything that’s brewing in terms of photography or another creative pursuit?

I’m doing a lot of nature videos. Things like that, that I will be showing in the next year or two because they take a lot of time to do. And I'm still taking pictures everyday. But they take a long, long time. All of my projects take like, three or four years, but I do a few at a time.

With your nature work, are you photographing people?

No. Just animals and trees. It’s completely different from what I've been doing—it has nothing to do with people. I have a place in Panama, so I mainly do them in the jungle there.

And what about Charles and Saatchi The Dogs—what was your experience photographing them, since you’re so used to working with people?

I just want to thank my dogs for being so cooperative with me—they could’ve run away. I don't know how to thank them—I mean, I gave them some biscuits and all of that. But they really were fabulous. And just seeing them play together and work together—it's really fun.

‘Charles and Saatchi The Dogs’ will be available at the office Newsstand starting tomorrow. Come at 6PM to get your hands on copy of the book. Limited quantities will be available, so be sure to arrive early.

Art

Pamela Sneed’s Speaking Tongue opens at Dashwood Projects

November 15, 2024

Pamela Sneed’s latest exhibition, Speaking Tongue, will be on view at Dashwood Projects from November 20 to December 21. The show features twenty watercolor and ink paintings inspired by her recent trip to Kenya, where she was deeply moved by the elegance of giraffes, the landscapes, and the energy of Nairobi.

Blending her background as a poet and visual artist, Sneed’s work reflects on themes of identity, nature, and connection. Her paintings capture the beauty and spirit of the animals she encountered, alongside reflections on her own experiences as part of the African diaspora.

This exhibition marks Sneed’s first solo show with Dashwood Projects and will be accompanied by a new book, also titled Speaking Tongue, to be released in December.

By Enzo Holdt
Artworks by Pamela Sneed

Art

Tiebreaker - Alvin Armstrong

November 15, 2024

There is a moment of silence right before the play. Just before the racket strikes the ball as it hangs weightless in the air, breathless and charged. It’s the fleeting yet decisive instant that can alter the course of the match, determining who wins and who loses.

Alvin Armstrong depicts this crucial moment in his new exhibition Tiebreaker, symbolizing the risks and rewards of competition. It’s an implication of something else at stake, where athletes push not only their bodies, but their spirits to the absolute limit.

The dynamic figures embody the strength, grace, and agility juxtaposed by the vibrant color palette evoking not just the joy of competition but the charged energy of the court.

Tiebreaker is opening Thursday, November 16th at Anna Zorina Gallery.

By Rea Brayshaw
Artworks by Alvin Armstrong

Art

The Things People Are Ashamed To Take Photos Of: The Photography and Films of Yuhan Cheng

Yuhan’s latest exhibition of photo and video work titled 窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里 takes its namesake from what could’ve been a mundane encounter. A month after moving to New York City from Chengdu, China, they stumbled across an abandoned fish tank left curbside. It reminded them of “the rotating fish in a tank that faded into the background of their mother’s home in Chengdu”, a thread connecting childhood familiarity that transformed into a symbol of greater significance in adulthood. A tank is a world within a world; a microcosm secluded from the broader chaos of the outside. Since then Yuhan has captured the other kinds of “fish tanks” closest to them in their photography and short films. Not literal ones necessarily– but intimate confined spaces in Chengdu and NYC where time stands still.

In the midst of taking snapshots of loved ones, Yuhan decided to turn their tender but examining lens on themselves. They realized shooting self-portraits unraveled a deeper understanding of their own nonbinary gender and queer sexuality. Yuhan admits in one of their short films “I hide from looking at my own body.” Yet, in the seclusion of their room which doubles as a dark room, Yuhan began to develop their first nude photos chronicling the subtle wounds; bitten cuticles, bruises, and scrapes they’ve accumulated involuntarily, once again documenting the things people choose to hide.

窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里, debuted at FAR-NEAR Studio Hours a gallery in Chinatown focused on expanding the art world's view of Asia and Asian artists curated by Lulu Yao Gioiello. The event merged Yuhan’s works from the past three years, including 70 photographs, three short documentaries, and one installation. There was something uncanny about the gallery’s atmosphere – from the dollar store teal green curtains obscuring every window to the clusters of framed photos mimicking how photos of relatives are displayed in one’s childhood home, to the darkened lighting that was both disorienting and cozy. All these details were meticulously chosen to imitate the rooms depicted in Yuhan’s films and photography. In other words, the audience was invited to Yuhan’s “fishtank”, to share the odd balance of comfort and unease of being known intimately. We talked to Yuhan at Cafe Reggio to understand how their latest body of work came into being.

Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity.

Ora Margolis— Were any memories/childhood experiences you had in Chengdu important to how you've developed as an artist?

Yuhan Cheng— Growing up in Chengdu, especially in a military household, shaped and gave me a source of contention how I understood my identity. There was always a sense of conflict when it came to my body and feeling like I didn’t quite fit the expectations around me. This tension has been a driving force in my practice, pushing me to explore identity and belonging in my work.

Tell us a bit about your latest exhibition Outside the Window, Inside the Tank at Far. What headspace were you in when taking these photos?

YC— Outside the Window, Inside the Tank is about the fluidity of self; our bodies, our environments, and our identities. The idea of water as both a symbol of confinement and freedom is central to the photos and film that comprise the exhibit. This fluidity much like how I see my experience moving between Chengdu and New York, where similar feelings follow me no matter where I am. Water mirrors the body, the frame, and the room, which are all containers of the self.

Previously, you’ve said you wanted the exhibition space to look "like your room". How did you make that happen and why is your NYC room important to you?

YC— My room in NYC is an extension of my identity. It’s where I feel vulnerable and where I explore myself most openly. It’s a manifestation of my sense of self. I recreated certain elements in the exhibition—the green sheer curtains, the dollar store shower curtain with bubbles, and the center installation depicted a self-portrait deteriorating in water, reminiscent of a fish in a tank. This room, like any other room or container, magnifies the tension of self-exploration.

Has your idea or comfort with your gender identity and /sexuality changed since you’ve delved into photography?

YC— Yes. The process of photography and filming has been a mirror to my own understanding of self. Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity. The process of photographing my queer friends and then myself allowed me to come to terms with who I am.

How did you and Lulu Yao of FAR-NEAR Studio meet, and what makes her a good collaborator?

YC— We first connected when I reached out with my series Princess of Funan River. Lulu understood the struggles and complexities in the work and she invited me to expand on those ideas with her. Our collaboration has worked because Lulu truly resonates with the themes I’m drawn to, like fluidity, transformation, and the intimacy of navigating belonging.

After completing Fish Tank and Remnants of an Amateur Film, what kind of movie do you want to make next?

YC— Right now, I’m more focused on writing. I need to understand what I want to say before making another film. Writing helps me find clarity;it’s a crucial part of my process.

What kind of camera do you use and why?

YC— I use a Canon AE-1. I started with it and I still love it. It's small, spontaneous, easy to use, and light. It allows me to capture moments naturally without overthinking.

What's your biggest fear?

YC— Being disconnected from my sense of self, from others, and from the things I love.

When do you feel most like yourself?

YC— It’s during those fleeting moments when I complete a project. That feeling fades quickly, leaving me searching for the next project to reconnect with that sense of fulfillment.

How do you want people to feel when they interact with your art?

YC— I want them to feel whatever resonates with them. I don’t want to prescribe the experience; it should feel right for each person.

Your work focuses on the close knit communities that surround you or various metaphorical “fish tanks”. What communities do you feel closest to?
YC— The queer artist community, both in Chengdu and NYC, has been a source of comfort and understanding for me. There’s something about shared struggles and shared creative language that feels like home.

What's the biggest difference between living life as a queer artist in NYC and in Chengdu?

YC— In both NYC and Chengdu, I’m learning more about myself. NYC offers a sense of freedom, while Chengdu is home, a place of comfort and history. Neither place defines me but both are significant parts of my path.

What are your next moves/goals?

YC— I want to continue exploring both film and photography, expanding my narrative style and experimenting across mediums. During my show, I found new ways of seeing my photographs such as by adding a window screen between frames or letting a self-portrait fade and grow mold in water. These approaches allowed me to see my work not just as 2D images but as 3D objects.

I want to keep pushing the boundaries of how photo and film can interact, and I’m also interested in trying photojournalism. My focus remains on collaborating across mediums and continuing to accumulate experiences that I can translate into sincere honest work.