I recently met an old dog walking acquaintance - the owner of two full sized Poodles 'Fergus' - now on the glucosamine and 'Charlie' - maybe 3 years old - and completely mad. I only know the dogs names. She asked me what Id been doing? I told her about the "Four Legs"project.
She replied.
"Its the dogs that give me my strongest feeling of community. Its because of them that I walk around in my neighbourhood - if didn't have these two I wouldn't get to meet these people. Just the other day one of my elderly neighbours who I always stop and chat with mistook me for a bird and threw some bread at me. Its our version of the kind of communities you see in Europe or the Pacific- where everyone is out on the street - or on their front step keeping in touch - the dogs give me this sense of involvement - and there's no boundary - the dogs sense of prejudice is not the same as ours - I get to meet all sorts of people I would never meet in any other situation."
The conversation went on like this - I'm not making it up. This was in Auckland - I was dropping Tippy back so that my partner could have the dog back in her life too.
She then said - "but here we feel like such criminals - the 'dog catcher' lurks up there ready to fine us - all the rules are designed to make it impossible to own a dog." I responded by saying that I had turned the corner - I have been so immersed in the dog world where the positives are so clear and so constantly affirmed - that I now felt like its just a matter of time before the fear that has been building around dogs over the last few years will lessen and there will be a move towards an understanding of how brilliant the dog community is -and its all because of the animals.
Welcome
Welcome to 'Four Legs BetterThan Two'
'Four Legs' is a community arts project based on the experiences of dog walking.
Everyone is invited to participate.
This project is about how dogs shape our lives. Based on the stories, memories, joys and benefits of dog walking 'Four Legs' looks at how our dogs influence the ways in which we experience and interact with the world.
'Four Legs' also reflects on the nature of the informal community we become part of as dog owners and how this community produces a sense of belonging that enhances our lives.
All dog owners are invited to participate in the project. There are many possible levels of participation from a simple comment on the discussion boards at popular dog parks to shared walks.
Contributions to this blog site are most welcome. These could be in the form of photographs, short stories or video of your favourite walks. As the project develops this site will gather dog stories from all over Dunedin, to create a network of 'who's who' in the most popular dog areas.
Out of the project will come several different events. The most important entitled 'Four Legs Better Than Two' is the heart of the project. The experiences of dog walking will be gathered in the most inventive ways. Including the use of 'dog cam', shared walks and audio recordings this will be a light hearted and undemanding process. From these records will come the stories of dog walking and the community that we become part of through their influence. To participate in this stage please email me at sean.curham@otago.ac.nz.
The final event will be an informal showing of these stories and records - with plenty of food and drink - to which everyone is invited.
The other projects that from part of 'Four Legs Better Than Two' include an installation at the University called 'Big Dog', a sound work called 'Growly Dog', ongoing discussions on the dog park boards, 'Commune' a project with the post graduate students of the dance programme at the University of Otago , 'Good dog, bad man' a white board cartoon that is contributed to by passers by and a very light hearted project called 'Dog Park Karaoke'.
'Dog Park Karaoke' - is being created in response to the informal nature of the dog community. This event gathers its material through a process of chance encounters reflecting the informal, mobile nature of dog community interactions. We never know who we will meet. Will it be the 'regulars' out walking their dogs or will their be unknown 'newbies' on our patch? There are a number of different recording devices 'floating around' in the dog community - being handed on from person to person. These include postcards, a dog phone, and a camera. By recording your dogs information via these devices you will become part of the project building a profile of your dog.
'Dog Park Karaoke' will then be 'performed' in local parks where owners will trigger this information and a giant image of their dog. Of course more food and drink is required.
'Four Legs' is a community arts project based on the experiences of dog walking.
Everyone is invited to participate.
This project is about how dogs shape our lives. Based on the stories, memories, joys and benefits of dog walking 'Four Legs' looks at how our dogs influence the ways in which we experience and interact with the world.
'Four Legs' also reflects on the nature of the informal community we become part of as dog owners and how this community produces a sense of belonging that enhances our lives.
All dog owners are invited to participate in the project. There are many possible levels of participation from a simple comment on the discussion boards at popular dog parks to shared walks.
Contributions to this blog site are most welcome. These could be in the form of photographs, short stories or video of your favourite walks. As the project develops this site will gather dog stories from all over Dunedin, to create a network of 'who's who' in the most popular dog areas.
Out of the project will come several different events. The most important entitled 'Four Legs Better Than Two' is the heart of the project. The experiences of dog walking will be gathered in the most inventive ways. Including the use of 'dog cam', shared walks and audio recordings this will be a light hearted and undemanding process. From these records will come the stories of dog walking and the community that we become part of through their influence. To participate in this stage please email me at sean.curham@otago.ac.nz.
The final event will be an informal showing of these stories and records - with plenty of food and drink - to which everyone is invited.
The other projects that from part of 'Four Legs Better Than Two' include an installation at the University called 'Big Dog', a sound work called 'Growly Dog', ongoing discussions on the dog park boards, 'Commune' a project with the post graduate students of the dance programme at the University of Otago , 'Good dog, bad man' a white board cartoon that is contributed to by passers by and a very light hearted project called 'Dog Park Karaoke'.
'Dog Park Karaoke' - is being created in response to the informal nature of the dog community. This event gathers its material through a process of chance encounters reflecting the informal, mobile nature of dog community interactions. We never know who we will meet. Will it be the 'regulars' out walking their dogs or will their be unknown 'newbies' on our patch? There are a number of different recording devices 'floating around' in the dog community - being handed on from person to person. These include postcards, a dog phone, and a camera. By recording your dogs information via these devices you will become part of the project building a profile of your dog.
'Dog Park Karaoke' will then be 'performed' in local parks where owners will trigger this information and a giant image of their dog. Of course more food and drink is required.
Friday, July 3, 2009
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