Danger dog' signs by Nepal artists are in demand in L.A.

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'Danger dog' signs by Nepal artists are in demand in L.A.

 

A Santa Monica resident tries to keep an old tradition alive by selling

works by artists in Nepal.

 

24-04-2008 By Bettijane Levine, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

 

WHEN she first went to Nepal in 1986, Michelle Page was struck by images of

dogs hand-painted on metal signs hung above shops. " They were beautiful,

personable dogs, " she says. " Not generic, but very specific different

breeds and sizes, as if the artists actually knew the dogs they were

painting. "

 

Some artworks were naive in style, others very detailed, Page says. She

soon realized that artisans in Nepal were painting all sorts of animals on

those 1-foot-square metal sheets. Signs with a pig, goat or chicken denoted

the butcher shop within.

 

But the dogs were the most compelling and unforgettable. Some were the

equivalent of " beware of dog " signs one might see here. Others translated

into something more benign: " Brilliant dog in here. "

 

Page, an assistant film editor who lives in Santa Monica, returned to Nepal

repeatedly. Four years ago, she noticed that the dog signs she loved so

much were being replaced by more contemporary and commercial versions:

computer-generated images mass-produced on vinyl. She started collecting

the old " danger dog " signs she found in shops. Then she sought out the

studios where artisans created the signs, as well as banners and license

plates. In June she traveled to Nepal again and returned with 100 dog signs

commissioned from artisans whose work she particularly liked.

 

" It's just a hobby, not my vocation, " says Page, who thought she'd try to

find a market here for the work.

 

The signs sold out in weeks, so Page returned to Nepal in December for 300

more dog paintings, some of which now go for $150 at the Santa Monica

Museum of Art and the Craft and Folk Art Museum. Page has started up her

own website, nepaldog.com, and has even begun taking orders for custom

portraits. Clients send a photo of their dog (or rabbit or cat) to Nepal

with Page, and she commissions three or four artisans to paint the animal's

image on metal. Clients pick the version they like (for $200), and she

sells the rest.

 

Christine Knoke, a curator at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, says she

saw the " danger dogs " at the Santa Monica museum store.

 

" I was fascinated by them and their folk-art quality, " says Knoke, who has

commissioned portraits of her own three dogs.

 

Page says her side business has yet to break even, but she likes the idea

of keeping alive the work of artists so far away. " Their income from

painting signs is dwindling because of new technology, " she says. " It's no

different there than anywhere else. "

 

bettijane.levine

 

(Bron: http://www.latimes.com/)

(Bron foto's: http://nepaldog.com/)