Interview with William Wegman

Your feature includes over 100 of your videos. I saw one clip of a man lying on the floor with a dog treat in his mouth. He lets the dog eat the treat out of his mouth. Is that you?

That would be me. Guilty.

It then looks like you two have a proper snog.

Yeah, it’s pretty lewd.

At first you looked hesitant and then the dog puts its paw on your forehead and…

Yeah, to keep me from fidgeting so he could really grab on.

So, was it a good ‘kiss’?

It was pretty gross. And the taste of those milk bones – I can almost still taste them – I never developed the same fondness for them that he did.

As the ‘Man with the Dogs’, what’s your best canine advice?

You know, the Weimaraners are terrific. My advice would be don’t get one because I’m known for that, so choose your own dog. [Laughs]

You said earlier that the dogs were on the bed with you – do they sleep on the bed with you?

They do. My wife sleeps on one side, I sleep on the other, the male dog sleeps down at my feet under the covers, and the two females are up at our heads on the pillows.

What does your wife say about that?

She’s not a dog person, actually, but she’s come to really like them. What can I say?

If your dogs could talk, what would they say about your exhibit in Singapore?

Oh, you know, they would really want to be there. They like to go where I go. [Dogs bark in the background]

William Wegman exhibits at Fortune Cookie Projects from 5 Sep to 2 Oct