Postcard: Bastet

A postcard from my recent visit to the University of Chicago, Illinois.

Day 5: Bastet, Ancient Egypt Goddess

From the placard at The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois:

"This village shrine honors a kindly cat-goddess, called Bastet.

Much-loved for her nature - strong, fertile and agile as a cat - the goddess Bastet also represents the warm, life-giving sun.  

Religious processions (and wild celebrations) marked Bastest's feast days on the 29th day of the fifth month and the fourth and fifth days of the eighth month.  

Priests took her image from the shrine and carried it through the streets and down the river for all to see.  

In the New Kingdom Period, Ramesses IV decreed no lion hunting could take place on her days."

***

Today, let's celebrate Canada Day

A recognition of the early stages of Canadian unification.

Formerly called Dominion Day, the change to Canada Day occurred in 1982.

For me personally, Canada has been a very, very good friend.

From taking in stranded travelers on 9/11/01, to recently offering a hand of welcome to immigrants and women seeking medical assistance, Canadian sensibilities and caring ways are deeply appreciated.

Well, except for Canada Geese, which are the nastiest quackers...😹

Image from Meanwhile in Canada FB feed

Postcard: Chicago Surprise

A postcard from my recent trip to University of Chicago, in Illinois.

Day One: An eyebrow raising 'cat' encounter.

Upon a walking tour of campus, we stumbled across this wondrous artwork.

Artist: François-Xavier Lalanne

Title: Grand Chat Polymorph (1968/2008)

Location: David Rubenstein Forum, University of Chicago

Placard: Written by Jimin Kim, BA in Art History and East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2022 in collaboration with Roko Rumora, PhD Candidate Department of Art History

“What if we place a giant unknown living creature in a domestic space?”

"In 1968, French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne turned this question into reality, presenting this immense sculpture as a functional object for lounge spaces. While the work appears as a massive cat at an initial glance, a closer look reveals that it is in fact an amalgamation of the body of a cat with the tail of a fish, the wings of a bird, and the hooves of a bull. Suggested by the word polymorphe in its title, a derivative term of polymorphism, the work visualizes an imaginative organism occurring in multiple forms. Inspired by the fantastical polymorphic creatures from the Ancient Near Eastern mythology the artist engaged with as an at the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries of the Louvre, Lalanne gave life to this imaginative creature, turning his own imagination into a tangible form..."

Art is meant to evoke a reaction in the mind of the viewer.

What do you think of when you see this sculpture?