Some scientists say that without dogs to assist in livestock management, humans would not have become nearly so numerous. So dogs are partly to blame. Swiss Institute director Gianni Jetzer’s show “Dogma,” at Metro Pictures, assembles works about canines by 20 artists, from Allora/Calzadilla to Christopher Wool. Tipping off the viewer to the show’s skeptical take on man’s best friend is Claire Fontaine’s neon piece at the entrance, which spells out an expression coined by Bertolt Brecht: Kultur ist ein Palast der aus HundescheiÃ?e gebaut ist (culture is a palace built of dog shit).Â
