$39.00 [In almost every picture #9]

A book that is not in my library but that should be: In almost every picture #9 ($39).  I have a thing for all-black-everything dogs and cats and photographs of animals (other people's and my own), so a collection of found family photographs of a black dog who never quite finds his light is sort of my dream book.

In almost every picture #9
Collected & Edited by Erik Kessels.  Text by Christian Bunyan.
Color / back & white, 122 pages, soft cover.
A review and slideshow here.

The description:

In almost every picture #9 is the latest addition to the long running series of found photography.  This time around, we are presented with the peculiar story of one family's attempts to photograph its black dog.  "Attempts" being the operative word. 

Unfortunately, their camera's limitations mean that the canine appears, time after time, as only a vague black blob.  The all black dog shape is seen posed in all kinds of domestic situations, usually with his owners as part of a tableaux of homely contentment.  But while these contexts make it clear that the silhouetted pooch is an integral part of this family's life, it's equally clear that there's no situation capable of providing the requisite amount of light.

I should have put this on my wishlist before Christmas.

$16.47 [Chewed]

A few months ago, I learned about the book Chewed, which features 140 color photographs by Arne Svenson and "looks at the comically twisted results of our pets' desire to tear, shred, dismember, eviscerate -- to transform -- their favorite toys."  Excerpts from the book were shared to my delight on The Huffington Post.  See them here.

Like the dogs behind the photographed toys, Betelgeuse -- full of either love or hatred for them (we can't tell, maybe it's both) -- methodically destroys her plush toys.  She chews off any tags, removes the eyes and ears, dismembers the limbs, and, ideally, pulls out and eats the stuffing once the destruction is complete.  (I've already discussed her cloud-like all-stuffing BM before here.)  The end result is magnificent.

So, inspired by Chewed, I embarked on my own photography project while cleaning out the pups' toy box.  Unlike Chewed, however, I did not write stories from the perspectives of the toys -- you'll just have to buy the book for that.

It can be hard to appreciate how loved this rabbit has been without viewing the before photo. Despite Betelgeuse's infatuation with him over the last few years, he still squeaks and his stuffing is intact. What is left of his fur is super frizzy, but he somehow managed to keep his ears.