Ekphrasis

‘The Nobility of subject’

The affluent residents of The Upper Eastside of Manhattan love their dogs but often don’t have time to walk them. This situation happily gives rise to the booming commercial service of neighborhood dog walking.

Although the occupation of picking up dog poop for a full or part time occupation may not seem very glamorous, it does offer a number of perks such as time and schedule flexibility. Many very interesting people engage in this lucrative activity, especially people in the arts, such as aspiring actors, singers, dancers, rappers, painters and poets, not to mention College and Graduate students as well.

Though never having engaged in this activity himself, John Varriano very aptly conveys his empathy for these noble individuals who have a preference for the dignity of work, and a ready need for money.

In this exceptional painting we are presented with wonderful contrasts of characters. The two dog walkers are center stage and comprise the main group in the painting. The large central figure firmly grasps the leashes of a group of four dogs. In him, we see the strength of the bull mastiffs he is guiding. He has a broad, handsome face and looks at us with a simultaneous air of suspicion and recognition. Varriano’s unique talent for capturing these fleeting yet contrasting emotions in a split second of time is here so aptly displayed. The second dog walker, holding the leashes of two dogs looks weary, perhaps the result of a late-night music gig or a lot of school work study the night before. Like so many New Yorkers he is tired but shows up to work anyway.

To the right is a man sifting through garbage that reminds us of the saying that “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure." In the middle background are what appear to be neighborhood residents. A finely dressed Woman emerges from a taxi cab. A couple having just done some shopping take a leisurely afternoon stroll. A man in a trench coat holding a newspaper gently strides along as a school bus delivers a group of children to their respective stops. A number of pedestrians go about their daily business while the well built and toney buildings rise up above the gritty asphalt streets, leaving the dog urine on the sidewalks below to be dealt with by others such as street cleaners and artists.

Varriano’s handling of the paint is exquisite. His style is clearly realistic yet leaves room for the expressionism that he is so fond of. The painting is suffused with the atmosphere of a cool yet sunny autumn afternoon. We feel the scene with such visual gravity that we are pulled into the picture as though we are actually there.

Indeed, there is nobility in any subject and it all depends upon how the artist portrays it.

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