All through world historical past, cats have been revered as sacred animals, doted on as devoted companions, and immortalized in artistic endeavors.
Now, these four-legged introverts are featured in a 10-day group exhibition of works by greater than 40 artists punnily titled Magnum O-Pspsps at Cornell College’s Olive Tjaden Gallery in Ithaca, New York, by September 25.
Curators and Cornell MFA college students Michael Morgan and Elina Ansary cited two vital inspirations for making a salon-style, cat-themed exhibition. Morgan learn The Pussycat Princess, a 1922 fairytale by Edward Anthony that included stylized pictures of furry fashions dressed as kings, queens, and jesters. And he researched the lifetime of English illustrator Louis Wain, whose Twentieth-century anthropomorphized drawings helped popularize cats as family pets.
“In Renaissance paintings, cats are lifeless and soulless, but in Wain’s drawings, cats had so much life and emotions and character,” Morgan stated. “He turned to cats during a difficult time in his life.”
Tatiana Tatum, “Meow from the back seat” (2024), oil on canvas, matte and shiny varnishes (picture courtesy the artist)
There was a extra private angle, too. Morgan adopted a grey Siamese cat that he named after the Zelda character Rauru when he moved to Ithaca final fall to start out his grasp’s program. He stated Rauru irrevocably modified him.
“I’m a dog person, but a Siamese cat is the most doglike of cats, and now I’m more of a cat person. They value their independence, and they’re affectionate,” he stated. “It got me thinking, what does it mean to have one’s greatest work be their cat?”
Steve Keister, “Siamese Cat” (2022), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wooden (picture courtesy Derek Eller Gallery)
It turned out that many artists considered their cats as tiny muses. Morgan started reaching out to artists within the Cornell group, and phrase rapidly unfold past the Finger Lakes area. Quickly, he was buried in submissions like litter in a sandbox.
“Cats embody feminine and queer energy, which made it really easy to rally people behind this show,” he stated. “It’s a way for other people who may be introverted cat-loving artists to activate and be part of a community.”
As a canine one who occurs to be extraordinarily allergic to cats, painter Erika Ranee was amused when Morgan invited her to take part. Nonetheless, she contributed a stunning collage portrait of an iconic cat woman adorned with loads of crystals and feathers.
“This is a cat, in all her splendor, who fascinates me — and no sneezing!” Ranee stated. “I embellished her and her feline sister with plenty of OG bling and a ticklish love gift of bird remnants.”
Juan Hinojosa, “Gloria” (2020), blinders, paint, spray paint, toys, trim, tape, and located objects on PVC (picture courtesy the artist)
Different entries had been memorials for feline pals who handed away. Artist Lisa Lebofsky lent an summary work with paint scratched off an aluminum base. Its metallic floor implies that it appears to be like completely different relying on the angle; from some views, it resembles the splotchy fur sample of Lebofsky’s deceased cat Fileseffer, named for a mispronunciation of the phrase “Filesaver.”
“Cats have always been my best studio assistants, calling me to paint, observing, sitting on me to be sure I stay put and focused,” she stated. “She was always by my side or on my lap, sharing her exceptional furry belly and chest. Just as the fur spirals outward from her armpit, so did our experiences during her long life.”
Emily Weiskopf, “Toes” (2024), acrylic on paper (picture courtesy the artist)
Leeza Meksin, an artwork professor at Cornell, displayed a yoga mat that her tuxedo cat, Katya, scratched a number of instances shortly earlier than her loss of life. It’s the solely piece within the present that may be a collaboration between the artist and her pet.
“I was mad at her at first, but a month later, I understood that she was leaving me a message to have and to hold after she’s gone,” Meksin stated. “I now think of her every time I roll out my yoga mat.”
Morgan was touched by one submission specifically: a chrome forged of a gravestone that belonged to one of many taking part artists’ cats. Nonetheless, not each cat memorial might make the lower.
“After I invited artists to participate, I would start to get artists who were friends of other artists asking if they could join,” he stated. “Another artist asked, ‘Can I have my cat bones in the show?’ I said no. There’s a line I had to draw.”
