Why Cats Paint

Product Description

Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics is the masterfully composed book that provides an unprecedented photographic record of feline creativity in various painting disciplines. It highlights the works of iconic feline artists like Princess, Sm

Top Reviews

Hilarious, one of a kind!
by Aurora (5 out of 5 stars)
September 18, 2015

In one word: Hilarious!

A museum-like analysis of the "artists" and their biographies, artistic styles, how these evolved, all delivered in highly sophisticated text and as if by a museum curator. With a real sense of humor! There comes a point that the seriousness becomes part of the humor, and bits of information betray the fact that it is all, obviously, a big joke. This book is quite a livingroom conversation piece!
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This book should be required reading for all art critics ...
by Joanna C (5 out of 5 stars)
June 6, 2016

This book should be required reading for all art critics, art history instructors and museum docents. It is hilarious!
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It's a hoot
by Happy Reader (5 out of 5 stars)
July 11, 2019

It's not all plausible, but it is a hoot. An excellent coffee table book. Anyone who picks it up will have something to say.

It was edifying to discover that the two cats I have had that liked to catch mice and deposit them on the doorstep were budding feline Picasso's and not just good working cats as I supposed.
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The writing is laugh out loud funny, very clever book and the photos are wonderful ...
by Steve hydrogen (5 out of 5 stars)
August 5, 2017

The writing is laugh out loud funny, very clever book and the photos are wonderful too. If you're an artist, appreciate art and love cats too, this makes a great coffee table book.
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A seminal work in the study of feline art
by Sara Woodbury (4 out of 5 stars)
April 19, 2014

As can be observed in the feline predilections of today's popular culture, from the LOL cat phenomenon to the plethora of cat-themed videos sprouting on YouTube, cat art has become a significant field of interest to much of the general public, and will likely continue to grow exponentially in both quantity and popularity. Yet for all its ubiquity in our visual culture, there remains a clear lack of scholarly unpacking on the subject. Indeed, the paucity of serious scholarly work on the subject is nothing short of surprising, considering both the quantity and diversity of materials available for analysis. Moreover, considering the increasing relevance of the post-human perspective in academic scholarship, it is indeed shocking that cat art has not yet been intellectually interrogated in earnest.

Enter then, Why Cats Paint. To my knowledge, this is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject to date. Intended to provide readers with a broad overview of the field of cat art, it commences with a brief historical sketch on the development of feline painting, spanning ancient Egypt to the twentieth century. Having provided readers with this historical framework, the authors then proceed to introduce the work of several contemporary (albeit by 1994 standards) cat artists, again with the intention of providing a broad foundation to the field of cat art. The artists featured here work in a variety of stylistic modes and philosophical angles, from Trans-Expressionism to Intuitive Minimalism. While the book focuses primarily on painters, it also briefly ventures into other mediums, including installation, deconstruction, and assemblage.

The book's primary strength is its overall comprehensiveness., and it strives to provide a general overview that can serve as a springboard for future scholarship. The historical sketch offers a fine summary of cat painting. The section on Egypt is particularly illuminating, and includes examples of actual ancient cat art. The biographies of the various contemporary feline artists are also quite effective, and manage to highlight the aesthetic merits of each individual without deteriorating into sycophantic adulation. Overall, the writing is serious without being overly pedantic, and the photography, critical to any study of art, is exceptional. Photographing works of art is an extremely difficult endeavor, but the authors here succeeded admirably in maintaining the integrity of the color and texture of each work. I was also very impressed with the action shots, particularly those of Bootsie, the effusive Trans-Expressionist. Given the mercurial nature of cats as a species, let alone as artists, such an undertaking is truly an admirable one.

Nonetheless, as with any pioneering work on art that must carve out the path for future, more thorough endeavors, Why Cats Paint is not without its shortcomings. The historical sketch, while intended to provide a brief overview of cat art, does omit critical moments its effort to achieve brevity, most notably the transformative counter-catural movement of the 1960s, when cats began to openly rebel against the 1950s ideal of the docile pet and expressed their frustrations at the banality of domesticity through performance scratching, carrion installation, and other feral mediums. The overview of contemporary cat artists, moreover, while intended to survey a variety of styles, is noticeably biased in favor of award-winning artists who conform to the aesthetic inclinations of the commercial art world, ignoring outsider cat artists altogether. The book is also, as is evident through its title, concentrates almost exclusively on painting. While is does briefly address scratching and installation, its treatment is brief, and there is almost nothing on performance art, a medium which has become particularly crucial to today's cat artists, as is evident through the proliferation of online videos.

Overall, however, this is an excellent work on the study of cat art. It is a fine introduction to the subject, and an excellent springboard for future study. At the same time, however, given its date of publication (1994), it has become a historical document itself, and should be read as such rather than as a contemporary work. That said, I'd be interested to see whether any of the progeny of these cat artists have gravitated toward the painted paw.

So why do cats paint, then, you ask? Well, if I told you, you wouldn't want to read the book now, would you?
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tomtom
by tomtom (5 out of 5 stars)
February 13, 2013

I have wanted this book for ages. I have the small book that came out at the same time, comprised of post cards with the pictures and the really great reviews. they are so tongue in cheek and funny, that I have looked at it many times when I needed a laugh. This past summer my husband passed on, and I felt I needed a chuckle, so found this on Amazon and ordered it. It proves that books like this are always needed, not just the books I get on Kindle, but ones I can have in my living room and enjoy often.
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Absolutely Brilliant
by Pamela Polland (5 out of 5 stars)
January 22, 2016

One of the funniest, most brilliant picture books of all time. I keep buying this book over and over to give as gifts. Never met anyone who didnʻt love it.
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The amazing kitties who paint are just precious
by Dorothy Bunch (5 out of 5 stars)
February 25, 2019

This book is simply delightful for any cat person. The stories about the kitty artists is plain fun
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Good funny read!
by Omurray (5 out of 5 stars)
February 4, 2018

This book is hilarious! I bought it for a very good friend who is the ultimate cat lady and she couldn't get enough!
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AMAZING and WONDERFUL!
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
July 28, 2018

Appreciate the creators and publishers of this book and the others that they did!

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