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Beware of the empire.
Jason Bronner’s oil painting “Hunting Dogs 2” will be on display this month at Living Arts of Tulsa.
If you love dogs, Jason Bronner’s work may or may not be for you.
Pet enthusiasts expecting docile portraits of man’s favorite friend might find themselves taken aback by the artist’s raw characterization of these sublime beasts. The dogs in Bronner’s paintings, on display this month at Living Arts of Tulsa, hypnotize their prey with bulbous, glowing eyes, sneering into the dark to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. With their arched backs and outstretched paws, the curvature of their lean bodies is both beautiful and intimidating.
Friend or foe? Tame or feral? These are a few of the questions Bronner investigates in his work.
“The ambiguity of the dog interests me,” he says. “Is it the one protecting us or the one that is threatening us? The dog can be a metaphor for the protective element of the government as well as the oppression of the state.”
“Dogs of the Empire” uses the duality of the dog to question the policies and practices of a post-9/11 government.
“The title of this exhibition references two empires,” Bronner says. “One being that of the Roman Empire and the other being that of what has been called by many as the ‘New Rome,’ the United States.”
While living in Italy, Bronner became fascinated by the packs of feral dogs roaming the streets. Unlike dogs in the United States, Italian dogs do as they please, often wandering through the cities unchecked.
“I observed that Italian dogs inhabit a world between the domestic human world and that of the wild dogs,” Bronner says. “I kept seeing the dogs in my head, and in my nightmares.”
Sharing the gallery with Bronner, Cole Thompson will exhibit a collection of photographs titled “Ghosts of Auschwitz and Birkenau.”
In his images, Thompson depicts the camps “as having spirits that still linger.” He says he hopes to remind people that “the Holocaust is not just about the past; it has happened since and could also happen today.”
Steve Liggett, Living Arts artistic director, finds that the Holocaust and the idea of the dog share common meanings that Bronner and Thompson have reinvented.
“Both of these familiar images are approached in a new and very fresh way by the two featured artists, who cause us to question what other aspects about them we have missed,” he says.
Curious as to whether Bronner has a canine companion of his own?
“Currently, I do not have a dog, but I would like to have one,” he says. “Unfortunately, my wife, who is Italian, is scared of them.”
Both exhibits open Aug. 6 with a reception from 5–9 p.m. and will remain on display until Aug. 26.
