If you want an unfiltered perspective, untainted by diplomacy, consult a dog.

To that point, witness our recent visit to view Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds installation at the Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea. Given the artist/activist’s reputation, our expectations were high.  (Time Magazine included him in their Persons of the Year issue. Click HERE to read that interview.  And Art Review declared him the art world’s most powerful figure. Click HERE to read more at Art Review.)

Sunflower Seeds had been on display previously (in a much larger form) at London’s Tate Museum and was composed of over 100 MILLION hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds. To create these numerous mini sculptures, Ai Weiwei employed a great many of the residents of Jingdezhen, the Northern Chinese City made famous for crafting the finest porcelain for over 1800 years. Ultimately, it took 1,600 helpers to turn Ai Weiwei’s concept into reality.

'Sunflower Seeds' installed at the Tate Modern. Photo:Tate Photography

This video, featuring an extensive interview with the artist, reveals his painstaking and detailed process and can be viewed by clicking HERE. It’s fascinating, heartfelt and gives great context to the work.

Here’s what the Tate had to say about the installation:

Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today… Each piece is a part of the whole, a commentary on the relationship between the individual and the masses. The work continues to pose challenging questions: What does it mean to be an individual in today’s society? Are we insignificant or powerless unless we act together? What do our increasing desires, materialism and number mean for society, the environment and the future?

Installed at Mary Boone, here in Manhattan, the exhibit was not an interactive one as it was in London, where visitors were allowed to walk on the sprawling carpet of seeds. Toxic ceramic dust was a by-product of that interaction, so in NYC, visitors were allowed only to gaze upon the seeds, which were shaped into a gravely carpet with sloping borders, monitored by a watchful guard.

While we were struck by the beauty and detail of these three million seed replicas, all assembled in a tidy fashion within the space, I must admit that we didn’t experience an emotional response to the work.

And apparently, neither did Fern and Theodore.

Despite the formal atmosphere and hushed tones of the gallery, the dogs made their opinions of Sunflower Seeds crystal clear.

First, there was the eye rolling…

…then, obvious declarations of boredom

and then, finally, submission to the lack of interest, segueing into utter fatigue.

It’s not that the dogs don’t revere Ai WeiWei and his accomplishments, but works of art featuring whirligigs, chaseable animals and other kinetic attributes are more likely to result in pricked ears and full-on attention.

I don’t know if anyone else has ever fallen asleep in the exhibition space at the Mary Boone, but perhaps Theodore and Fern felt it was important to contribute to the work in their own special way. The humans were simply grateful that snoring wasn’t part of their performance.

Regardless of the dogs’ response, and their humans’ lack of emotional connection to the piece as well, we still have a tremendous respect for Ai Weiwei. Watching the video (link above) about the evolution of the piece and his thoughts behind the concept make the artist’s vaunted status in the art/activism world clear.

He’s a visionary with a purpose, and that’s something we’ll always admire.