Heart of a Dog

Dir. Laurie Anderson, Canal Street Communications, 75 min, 2015, USA/France

In this metaphysical and deeply personal visual essay, multi-disciplinary artist Laurie Anderson philosophizes on love and death, Buddhist teachings and the changing reality in the world. It’s an emotional farewell to her recently departed mother, husband – legendary musician Lou Reed – and her beloved dog, Lolabelle. Anderson’s melodic voice-over is interlaced with her music, painting, photographies and amateur video fragments, creating an intense cinematic experience that cannot be categorized, just like Anderson herself. Her multi-faceted career criss-crossed music, painting, poetry, performance and other art forms.

Convinced that animals are intellectually-blessed personalities just like humans, Anderson taught her rat terrier Lolabelle to paint, play the piano and “sing”. It’s believed that terriers are among the most intelligent of all dogs – they can comprehend more than 500 words.