Courtesy of Lowe Art Museum

Wegman's Mowing Alone, 1997

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Henri Cartier-Bresson described photography as the "simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event." And so he gave us snapshots of life's fleeting prefect compositions: figures jumping over puddles and shadows kissing other shadows. On the other extreme is photographer William Wegman who deliberately spills milk on his floor so that his Weimaraners pose in his pictures. And although he places his dogs in humorous contexts and dresses them up as Cinderella and farmers, Wegman's work exists on a completely different plane than the ridiculous and hallmark-y Anne Gedes.

By placing his canines in human contexts, Wegman makes the familiar uncomfortable and transforms the everyday into something odd. His photos are so well-respected they're housed in esteemed permanent collections such as the Smithsonian. This Thursday, he'll be in town for a lecture and book-signing event at UM's Lowe Art Museum.

His new book is William Wegman: Funney/Strange, cataloging a

retrospective exhibition exploring 40 years of his work in all media. It

includes 200 works, ranging from his signature 20 x 24 Polaroids, to

early black-and-white and altered photographs, as well as paintings,

drawings, collages, artists books, videos, and film. Wegman created short films for both Sesame Street and

Saturday Night Live that often star his Weimaraners, Man Ray and Fan Ray.

Here they are baking some bread for Sesame Street:

William Wegman will appear at the Lowe Art Museum (1301 Standford Dr., Coral Gables) as part of their

Annual Arnold Newman Lecture and Workshop in Photography. Hear his

lecture "Three Mistakes" at 7 p.m. in the Storer Auditorium and then

stay for the book-signing reception at 8 p.m. Call 305-284-3535 or visit

lowemuseum.org