January 29, 2009

For Cat Lovers Only (?)





I've known about this book for a long time. 'Why Cats Paint - a theory of Feline aesthetics by Heather Busch and Burton Silver. This is a serious analysis of the variations in feline artistic expression including live installations, and use of untraditional materials. An historical perspective gives a glimpse into the development of the modern artist artist. The book features 12 major international feline artists. Above is Princess painting a portrait of Boris.

A local celebrity, Misty,living in Rosedale, Toronto. is identified as a Formal Expansionist. One of her recent paintings, 'Interning the Terrier', (which appears to show a small headless dog being stuffed inside a red armchair by 2 frogs and a sardine) sold at auction for $21,000.
The next in the series is 'Why Paint Cats - The ethics of feline aesthetics'.

1 comment:

Leslie Jane Moran said...

It's aesthetics all right! I think they're painting to get the cat litter out of their little paws so they can go get a mani and a pedi!
Isn't that using alternative mediums?? I'll be expecting to see your kitties' renditions soon :)