Drift 1999

This is William Wegman's photograph "Drift," and well, it's a real Wegman. There's something about the way the dog, probably a Weimaraner named Fay, sits so patiently with that big branch balanced on its head that just gets me. It’s a simple scene, but Wegman has such a keen eye for composition and color. The muted greens and browns of the grass create this natural, almost painterly backdrop, allowing Fay's grey coat and the pale wood of the branch to really pop. You can tell that Wegman isn’t just taking a picture of a dog with a stick; he’s exploring the idea of performance and staging. It makes me think about how much control we have over the images we make, and how much we leave to chance. It’s like Wegman is saying, “Here’s a dog, here’s a stick, let’s see what happens.” It's a conversation, really. Like, say, John Baldessari, Wegman embraces the absurd. He finds humor in the everyday and invites us to laugh along with him.