Metaphor in Photography: Chien avec le Bandage

In June of 2008  Will and I, along with six friends, were traveling in a rented boat down the Canal du Rhône à Sète. Getting into Sète was the hardest thing we did all week, but for me it was worth the trouble to visit Le Cimetière Marin (Sailor's Cemetery): "A place all gold, stone, and dark wood, where shudders/So much marble above so many shadows:/And on my tombs, asleep, the faithful sea." (-Paul Valéry, trans. C. Day. Lewis). Also, I found the French Poodle with the bandage and sad eyes. 


Chien Avec le Bandage documents a moment in time and place: a poodle with a bandage sits inside a shop in Sète France. The dog’s eyes beg the viewer to stop and notice, to wonder, as Franz Marc asks, “is there any more mysterious idea for an artist than the conception of how nature is mirrored in the eyes of an animal? How does a horse see the world, or an eagle, or a doe, or a dog?” This photograph is important to me not as a portrait of a specific dog but as an illustration of an archetype. I see this dog as the embodiment of loyalty and protection: like a Chinese Fu Dog he guards the entrance, or perhaps like the Steadfast Tin Soldier he waits patiently with unconditional love for his owner. The power of this photograph lies in its ability to speak the language of emotions, to touch to the world of metaphor, dreams, and mystery.

This photograph was selected by Rixon Reed for The Center for Fine Art Photography’s exhibit and publication, 2009Portfolio Showcase, Volume 2 and also by Fay Gold for the Women in Focus XV exhibit in Atlanta. Currently the photograph is part of an exhibit in Zebulon, Georgia. I like the drive from Newnan to Zebulon, and I like that this exhibit supports local animal rescue programs. The exhibit, Puppy Love, hangs the month of February at The Novel Experience Bookstore and Gallery. There is a reception on February 6th at 6:30 p.m. 

Metaphor in Photography: Chien avec le Bandage