A PORTRAIT OF YOUR PET ON METAL FROM NEPAL
BEWARE OF DOG signs in Nepal are one-of-a-kind, hand painted portraits
of dogs commissioned by their owners and rendered in startling detail
on metal. "Danger Dog" and other charming variations on the "Beware of
Dog" theme are written in Nepalese and/or English, according
to your specifications, and turned into a uniquely personalized work
of art.
Your dog's portrait can be rendered in the naïve, almost primitive
style that results in a "doggie mug shot," or it can have a playful
smile, a wary and growling demeanor, or a dangerous gleam in its eye.
In America as in faraway Nepal, these signs can be as effective as any
alarm system, and are practical for indoor or outdoor display.
1. Just e-mail your favorite photo (non-returnable)
2. Give us your style preference (use Picassa Web links below for examples).
3. We will commission the portrait of your pet and have it delivered to you in early December, 2008. You will receive 3 different portraits by 3 different artists from which to choose.
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4. The cost is $250 plus shipping. And 8.25% California sales tax for California residents.
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5. Specify what you want it to say.*
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6. Contact Michelle at ampage1@gmail.com and place order.
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7. Multiple pets cost more ($325 for Double, $400 for Triple).
Or, just choose one of the signs already made on the following pages. The cost for a ready-made sign ranges from $100.00 to $400.00 plus shipping.
ORDERS CAN BE TAKEN ONLINE -- EMAIL YOUR PHOTOS TO ME AT AMPAGE1@GMAIL.COM AND WE’LL TAKE CARE OF THE MONEY AND SHIPPING DETAILS LATER.
Michelle is back from Nepal and processing orders!!! See the latest 2008 Dogs at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ampage1/latestDogs
Scroll down for before and after portraits!
*i.e. Specify whether you want a sign that says "Danger Dog", "Beware of
Dog", “Enlightened Dog”, “Smiling Dog” or “Zen Dog.” If you prefer, choose a dog on the Picassa website below that most closely resembles the look, style and doggie attitude you want for your one-of-a-kind, personalized dog sign.
For a link to the dogs and to see the artists’ studios, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ampage1/LatestDogs
http://picasaweb.google.com/ampage1/NewDogs
http://picasaweb.google.com/ampage1/ALLDOGS
http://picasaweb.google.com/ampage1/ArtistsAtWork
Danger Dogs Press links:
LA Tails, June, 2008, by Erin Auerbach
http://www.tailsinc.com/site/epage/63187_551.htm
The complete Los Angeles Times article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-dogs24apr24,1,2996307.story
for a link to my interview on PRI's "the World" go to:
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/18399&answer=true
For a link to a wonderful Dog Art video (featuring a Danger Dog by Birju):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mpIp0Ebao8k
NEW! Photo-Essays available on Lulu.com! See Danger Dogs from Nepal (paperback) and
Danger Dogs from Nepal Vol 2 (hardback) at www.lulu.com
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DANGER DOG is the creation of Michelle Page, who became intrigued by
the hand-painted metal "Beware of Dog" signs everywhere she looked on
her many visits to Nepal. Then they started disappearing...lost to computer generated graphics on vinyl.
Michelle started searching for and befriending the artists, commissioning paintings of dogs on metal. She became the world's top collector of such signs. Soon, her friends were asking for their own dogs' and cats’ portraits to be rendered on the signs.
She now sells them in art galleries in Los Angeles, Ojai and Kathmandu. The art and expertise these artists employed in rendering the dogs' unique spirit and personality was beginning to die out. Michelle is effectively saving their livelihoods, one "Danger Dog" at a time, to the delight of dog-lovers everywhere.
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Contact Michelle Page at ampage1@gmail.com
Reviews:
John Walsh, Director Emeritus of the Getty (1983-2000) has written:
"All of them have fluent Nepalese warnings and delicious almost-correct English subtitles. There is a lot of sophistication here. Michelle has found a whole subculture of self-taught artists living in dodgy circumstances in Kathmandu and brought their delightful work to the West."
From ECS Magazine in Nepal, December 2007:
Beware of Dog, Cat, Goat...
You’ve seen the signs on gates to residential compounds: Beware of
Dog! But, have you seen those warning you to ‘Beware of Cat’ or
‘Beware of Goat’? You have if you attended the special exhibition at
Baryo Fiesta, in Naxal (Kathmandu), between November 23 and
December 1. The show featured dozens of ‘Beware of ___’ signs: fill in
the blank: dog, goat, cat, parrot, ...whatever. The show was entitled
‘Folk Art from the Himalayas’, the creation of Michelle Page of
California.
Michelle Page is a folk art promoter. Her motto for the dog signs is
‘American Dogs, Nepali Jobs’. Her goal is to assist Nepali signboard
painters, whom she thinks are under-appreciated. Of the different
artists she commissioned (from 38 separate studios), she says they
are “eager to paint something besides lettering”. She goes on to
lament that “It is a dying art in one of the last places on earth where it
is still widely practiced.” Her exhibit showed the range of local talent
and creativity available in Nepal. Each signboard is original, signed by
the artist. Some of the dogs looked ferocious, and some are attractive
and cute. Other signs in the collection exclaimed: “Danger Cat” and
“Dangers Dog” (as in ‘Dangerous’), “Enlightened Dog” and “Beware of
Enlightened Dog”, “Beware of Cock” (showing a bright red rooster) and
“Loud Parrot”.
In America her folk art collection has attracted the attention of fine art
collectors, and the signboards are starting to sell in museum gift
shops. Gallery owners, artists, curators, photographers, critics and
writers are going for them. In California, Michelle sells them in Los
Angeles, Ojai and Santa Monica. They are so popular that she’s gone
international, taking orders from Canada, Europe and the Middle East.
In the near future Michelle plans to come out with a book on the
subject. Then you and your ferocious watchdog can check out the
competition.
See the Dogs in person :
The Santa Monica Museum of Art
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404 (310)586-6488
Healthy Spot
1110 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-458-2004
Dinan Main Gallery at ARTicles
307 E. Ojai Avenue Suite 101.
Ojai California,
(805)646-6205
The Craft and Folk Art Museum
5814 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles California 90036 (323)937-4230
Buster & Sullivan
Malibu Country Mart (near Mac Cosmetics)
3835 Cross Creek Road
Malibu, CA 90265 310-317-6777
