A new exhibition coming to the Japan Society this spring brings a different perspective to bear on our feline friends.
Cats
Posted inArt
From Hermitage Cats to a Chernobyl Safari, Anna Jermolaewa’s Counter Histories
By now the Hermitage cats, the troupe of feline pest control agents residing at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, are well known, but Anna Jermolaewa is providing some historical context for all the cuteness.
Posted inOpinion
Looking at Cats with Ai Weiwei
“It’s all about the cats,” Ai Weiwei said recently, sitting in his Beijing compound in conversation with a writer for a new feline-themed magazine called Puss Puss. “They stay here, some have babies here, but it’s their home and really an oasis for us.”
Posted inIn Brief
Archeologists Find Possible Ancient Cat Costume in Peru
Archeologists in Peru have discovered the 1,500-year-old tomb of a Moche nobleman, which they say could shed further light on the pre-Inca civilization. Along with some things you might expect to find in an archeological dig was a curious pair of metal feline paws with sharp claws.
Posted inArt
Cat Photography Before the Internet
David Foster Wallace thought irony was ruining our culture, but it has certainly made cat memes entertaining. But have you ever wondered about the ancestors to our cute cat photos — what pictures of furry felines looked like in the un-ironic years before sites like LOLCats existed?
Posted inArt
Why Watching Cat Videos with 10,000 People Matters
A week ago Wednesday night, I sat down in a green metal chair at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand and watched an hour and a half of Internet cat videos on a giant screen alongside 10,000 people. When this little guy licked a vaccum cleaner, 10,000 of us chuckled together; when these sad cats lamented their plight, we all LOLed; when “Lil Bub & Friendz” came on, we cooed over her sweetness.
Posted inArt
Cats Take Over the Art World
Common journalistic wisdom has it that it takes three examples of a phenomenon to make a trend. 1) Kitty City, a metropolis/playground for cats that was built at Flux Factory in May and unveiled with a kitten adoption drive the first weekend in June; 2) The Cat Show, an exhibition devoted to cats, also with adoption drive (two!) and a zine, opening June 14 at White Columns; 3) Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, a long-term installation opening later this summer at the Brooklyn Museum that will explore the role of felines in ancient Egypt. And I didn’t even mention last year’s Internet Cat Video Festival, which organizers will reprise this summer, or the Grumpy Cat Art Project at a studio in Alabama.
