Tony Savoie, a native Floridian and current resident of Orlando, worked in many aspects of commercial art and production.  His work experience comprised screen printing, offset printing, and other advertising endeavors.  Since 2004 he has focused solely on his own work which has made its way into numerous private, corporate and museum collections.

Artist Statement-The Command Series

The Command Series addresses one of the most accessible, loveable and exploited subjects on earth: dogs.  The principal images are familiar and clichéd. Many of the pieces incorporate common and accessible primary forms.  Canine imagery is consistently used in marketing a vast array objects and ideas (including fine art) because it makes us feel good about ourselves, “We must be good: We love our dogs; they love us...”

This series celebrates those attributes that can be admirable in both dogs and people: loyalty, devotion, obedience, enthusiasm, optimism, trust.  But where such disciplines are universally admired in dogs, they can become far less appealing in humans when submission to them results in subjugation of self, and/or persecution of others.

In addressing the gap between our boundless potential for decency and an often brutal reality, my hope is to encourage humane critical thinking.