Okay. Admit it.
Your pet has a favorite toy that is loved...well... to bits. Stuffing is seeping out its sides; it's missing body parts, or worse...it's headless. Whether it's a felt catnip mousie, a furry, stuffed squirrel or even a weird, yellow monkey, if it is your pet's prized toy it's likely been through the ringer. But your pet has no intention of parting with the dismembered toy. And you wouldn't even think of taking it away.
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| The new book, Chewed. |
Arne Svenson and Ron Warren totally understand the deep and endearing love a pet has for a cherished toy. They got the idea for Chewed, a new book, featuring 140 portraits of gnawed toys, when they were visiting a friend's house and were met at the door by her dog who had in its mouth a soggy and eviscerated one-eyed sock monkey.
The authors asked friends to share their pets' toys so that Svenson could photograph them.
"We began by coaxing these victims of tough love from pet-owning friends, some of whom confessed that they just might have an old pet toy or two lying around – only to then produce an astonishing array of mangled remains," said the authors on their website. "Soon we were inundated with boxes containing plush animals, rubber squeakies and unidentifiable bits and pieces."
The book also presents a number of contributers (artists, writers, designers) who wrote short stories on their favorite chewed toy including Augusten Burroughs, Maira Kalman, and William Wegman (on the much-loved teddy bear of his famous dog, Man Ray).
You can check out the Facebook fan page of Chewed.
I am already a big fan of Svenson's and Warren's work and was excited yesterday, when I read about Chewed in Dog Toys Loved to Pieces in The New York Times. I loved Svenson's 2002 art exhibit, Sock Monkeys at the Julie Saul Gallery in New York City.
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| Sock Monkeys book |
It appears the authors take the same warm and elegant approach to their beat-up toy subjects. Now, that's something to chew on.
P.S. Love to know what is your pet's dearest toy!
photo credits: Arne Svenson
