Debbie
Persnickety slattern
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2001
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Silver Burton and Heather Busch (New Zealanders)
have a new book out. Called Why Paint Cats; The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics.
"The book features cats painted as pigs, vicars, clowns, bathing beauties, butterflies, birds, fish and elephants.
The cat painters are said to use food colourings and neutralised peroxide which they say wears off in two months and does not harm the animals when they groom themselves. They say they use a damp brush to gently stroke the cat while it sleeps to make sure it is happy with the process. If the cat dislikes it, they do not paint it." (From October Issue of New Zealand's Woman's weekly.)
"WHY PAINT CATS?
One of the more intriguing titles of fall book lists is Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch (Ten Speed Press / Celestial Arts, $16.95). The authorial team, which hails from New Zealand, focuses not on interpretations of canvases marked by paw prints (for instance), but rather on "the cat as canvas" in a study that "explores the rights of cat owners to reinvent their feline companions in the name of art." The tome purports to detail the "latest trends" in the discipline -- Nouveau Classicism, Neo-Totemism, Avant Funk and Retromingent Expressionism -- that is "only now becoming popular in the West." New York stockbroker Gordon Tate, for instance, is said to have paid $16,000 to have Charlie Chaplin painted on his cat's posterior." From artnet.com
The photos of the cats that have been 'painted' are amazing.
I can't post the pics because of copyright but here is a link to the book which shows the cover.
http://www.thegalleries.com/petlover/books/CatBooks/
What interested me was Silver Burton's comments about the new book, (Again from the New Zealand's Woman's Weekly)
"The fur is about to fly in between those who love the idea of painting cats and those who loathe it.
But Burton Silver , author of the controversial new book is happy for the claws to come out over the issue of cats as canvas.
Quote by Burton Silver from the article of The New Zealand Woman's Weekly,
"I still haven't made my own mind as to whether it is right or not. That's what I wanted to explore in the book, why I spoke to the artists about their reasons and why it's subtitle is The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics. The more people that discuss this,
the better." Unquote.
Another intriguing snippet, from the same article,
"But before animal lovers start spitting with anger, pause for a moment.
Burton is after all, the man behind best-selling book Why Cats Paint, featuring works by feline artists that was recently exposed as having human hands involved.
Despite his previous unmasking, Burton refuses to be drawn on whether the multi-coloured cats in his new book are really and truly daubed."
Cats as canvas? Paws up? Or claws out?
have a new book out. Called Why Paint Cats; The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics.
"The book features cats painted as pigs, vicars, clowns, bathing beauties, butterflies, birds, fish and elephants.
The cat painters are said to use food colourings and neutralised peroxide which they say wears off in two months and does not harm the animals when they groom themselves. They say they use a damp brush to gently stroke the cat while it sleeps to make sure it is happy with the process. If the cat dislikes it, they do not paint it." (From October Issue of New Zealand's Woman's weekly.)
"WHY PAINT CATS?
One of the more intriguing titles of fall book lists is Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch (Ten Speed Press / Celestial Arts, $16.95). The authorial team, which hails from New Zealand, focuses not on interpretations of canvases marked by paw prints (for instance), but rather on "the cat as canvas" in a study that "explores the rights of cat owners to reinvent their feline companions in the name of art." The tome purports to detail the "latest trends" in the discipline -- Nouveau Classicism, Neo-Totemism, Avant Funk and Retromingent Expressionism -- that is "only now becoming popular in the West." New York stockbroker Gordon Tate, for instance, is said to have paid $16,000 to have Charlie Chaplin painted on his cat's posterior." From artnet.com
The photos of the cats that have been 'painted' are amazing.
I can't post the pics because of copyright but here is a link to the book which shows the cover.
http://www.thegalleries.com/petlover/books/CatBooks/
What interested me was Silver Burton's comments about the new book, (Again from the New Zealand's Woman's Weekly)
"The fur is about to fly in between those who love the idea of painting cats and those who loathe it.
But Burton Silver , author of the controversial new book is happy for the claws to come out over the issue of cats as canvas.
Quote by Burton Silver from the article of The New Zealand Woman's Weekly,
"I still haven't made my own mind as to whether it is right or not. That's what I wanted to explore in the book, why I spoke to the artists about their reasons and why it's subtitle is The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics. The more people that discuss this,
the better." Unquote.
Another intriguing snippet, from the same article,
"But before animal lovers start spitting with anger, pause for a moment.
Burton is after all, the man behind best-selling book Why Cats Paint, featuring works by feline artists that was recently exposed as having human hands involved.
Despite his previous unmasking, Burton refuses to be drawn on whether the multi-coloured cats in his new book are really and truly daubed."
Cats as canvas? Paws up? Or claws out?
