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The animals themselves are beautiful, and their "creations" equally, in a weirdly non-human way. This is hardly a new book, but its continued presence in my neighborhood bookstore finally piqued my curiosity. Authors Busch and Silver have concocted a well-wrought story that purports to show various cat artists (not artists who make paintings with cats in them, but actual felines who take pigment to paw) at work. My bookstore can finally put it away.
But if you are not really into art criticism, the photos and their captions are amazing enough. As for me, having finally gotten the joke, I would have appreciated a section that explained how the cats were enticed to adopt painterly poses they took here.But at least I can say this -- I have satisfied my long curiosity about this beautiful, clever fake. There are invented footnotes implying scholarly works, events and books -- none of which (apparently) are real. But even with my skeptical antenna perpetually tuned to "high," it took quite awhile to finally determine that "Why Cats Paint" was definitely unreal.Those familiar with the world of art criticism will probably get the joke behind "Why Cats Paint." fully.
The artistry require to create this parallel universe in which cats paint gives some indication of the lengths to which the authors go to make the satire work. Though I enjoy art, I'm no expert. "Why Cats Paint" is an elaborate and intricate parody of art critics and their work. The joke is subtle and might be funnier for the art insider.
The "artists" are shown at work, putting painted paw to paper (and sometimes the surrounding walls and floors) as they create their masterpieces. The authors present an elaborate and semi-plausible history of cat painting, starting with eerie photos of cat mummies clutching papyrus scrolls, through medieval illuminations and even some 19th century carnival posters. Following the history is a collection of page after page of cat artists, each with his/her own style.
It's truly interesting. We know pussens are intelligent - this shows they are artistic also.
If you can, look for the original publication which is much more funny and looks like an actual non-fiction publication. Much of the best material has been edited out and of course the photos are now bite-sized. The tiny version looks like a cute gag - which is what it has been reduced to. I had only seen the original edition of this book which is a full sized binding suitable for coffee table display. I was disappointed at what arrived, this pocket-sized version.
Go through the book and there are other examples, proving that it's meant to be a humorous read.That said, we enjoyed this book immensely and found it to be pure genuis -- but not for the reasons we initially thought. My husband and I also went and checked out some of the books listed in the bibliography and surprise, none exist. Faked cat.
At first, we were amazed as we looked over the cat's paintings and read about the "artists" histories. For example, on the page with the cat mummies, check out the "Egyptian" names listed. My husband and I are cat people and were thrilled when we received this interesting book as a gift.
One is something like "Fakt Kat." Get it. I highly recommend it. However, as we paid more attention to the fine details in the book (i.e.
the index and footnotes, etc)., we realized that this book is purely tongue-in-cheek.
The cats are presented the way typically artists are shown and described by the art establishment.Abstract expressionsim is covered mostly, also you will have examples of installation art. The art world jargon is very believable. Deliciuos and heart warming.I trully recommend this book, if you are an aillurophile yourself, or want it as a gift for a cat person, or an artist. Humorous book,imitating art books, mocking jargon and theories of the art world.It is a spoof. This is a wonderful book, with very nice photos.
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