John Aaron, self-proclaimed “Dog Mumbler,” calls his studio The Museum of Modern ARF. Established in Arlington, Virginia from 2002-2006, MOMARF is now located in Emeryville.
Aaron says, “As a Dog Mumbler, I communicate with dogs by raising myself up to their level rather than bringing them down to mine.” He agrees with nature writer Edward Hoagland’s view: “In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely train him to be semi-human. The point is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.”
Whether it’s the expert mumbling or the exceptional muse, Aaron’s dog art, including sculptures and paintings, is something special. His art career began in 1959, when he made a small dog out of clay at age six. Since then, he has completed more than 400 commissions in sculpture and painting, had many one-person exhibitions, and been included in prestigious collections around the world. He has been called upon to do hundreds of dog portraits in various media.
Aaron has one “pet” project that doesn’t necessarily involve dogs: CHALK4PEACE. He is founder of this global sidewalk chalk painting event for young people. It took place in hundreds of locations worldwide on September 14-16, 2007 and is scheduled for September 19-21 of this year. For more information, visit www.chalk4peace.blogspot.com.
John has had eight dogs in his life, four of them Golden Retrievers (two retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael). His current animal companion is a cat named White Guy.
To learn more about John Aaron’s work, visit www.modernarf.com, and www.chalk4peace.org. Contact him at aaron@modernarf.com.
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