Projected onto our outdoor screens facing the river in the evening and on our indoor screens during the day
Screen Tests (After Warhol), by Canadian artist Shari Hatt, takes its name from the faux screen tests filmed by Pop Art master Andy Warhol between 1964 and 1966. Rather than performing, Warhol’s celebrity “actors,” including film star Edie Sedgewick, musician Bob Dylan, and artist Salvador Dalí, among others, simply stare blankly out at the viewer. In this 2012 video, Hatt transforms ordinary pet dogs into stars, with eleven comic Chihuahuas breaking the “fourth wall” to beguile people passing by.
Hatt, a Nova Scotian of Mi’kmaq descent, parodies conventions of portraiture, and celebrates Warhol’s famous declaration that we all get “15 minutes of fame.” Screen Tests (After Warhol) is just one of several humorous artworks Hatt has made with her rescue dog, collaborator, and muse Garry-Lewis James Osterberg. Named in homage to musician Iggy Pop, whose birth name is James Newell Osterberg, Gary-Lewis appears alongside a cast that includes fellow canine stars Milo, Tokyo, Little Dude, Mr. Wilson, Jorge, Bandedo, Chip, Spicy, Elvis, Lenny, and others. Through their subtle facial expressions, Hatt captures that emotional bond that every dog lover will recognize.
Artist biography
Hatt has exhibited in Canada and internationally since 1993. She has been featured in recent exhibitions at the Polygon Gallery, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Art Windsor Essex, and many other galleries. Her work is owned by the National Gallery of Canada, Canada Council Art Bank, Museum London, Banff Centre, and private collections. Hatt’s dog, Garry-Lewis James Osterberg, is known as the first Chihuahua art star and her mentor.
Image: Shari Hatt, Screen Tests (After Warhol) ©Garry-Lewis James Osterberg (still), 2012, silent HD digital video, Purchase, John. H and Elizabeth Moore Acquisitions Fund, 2022
