Cats at The Museum

May 18 is International Museum Day, and this year the objective is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” 

Have snapped photos of cats at art and natural history museums in my travels; here are a few:

The Graham Children, 1742

William Hogarth

The National Gallery, London

See the wee kitten watching the bird in the upper right?

Replica of Persian cat sculpture by

Richard H. Recchia

The Feline Historical Museum, Alliance, Ohio

Ancient Egypt

Bastet figure

The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Cat and Bird, 1928

Paul Klee

Museum of Modern Art, New York

Tiger Rug, made of Maneki Neko cat images

The Lucky Cat MEWseum, Cincinnati, Ohio

Visit a museum; you'll learn something, I guarantee it.

Sights

Stuff seen in my 'hood:

The world's biggest spent whisker; glad I haven't run into this kitty!

Doggo sculpture...

...and it's matching cat sculpture.

Star hanging out atop a van.

Proof that Henry is using The Cat Hotel!

Thankfully, we haven't experienced wild weather, as has other parts of the US has; only plenty of rain, sun, and temperatures fluctuating down and up, up and down.

As I continue to work from home, I tie up my chuggin' shoes and get out for a walk twice a day.

Unafraid to carry an umbrella, to wear a floppy sun hat, or to wrap my face in a scarf.

And I always have my phone with me, ready to snap a pic of anything that strikes my fancy.

📸

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?

Cat Art History: Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder, July 22, 1898 - November 11, 1976, was an Modern, Abstract, and Surrealist artist, innovating with his three-dimensional kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents, and his monumental public sculptures.

The artist undoubtedly studied cats, sculpting them as whimsical and playful.

La Cornue, or "Calder's Cat", 1974
Located in Grenoble, France

Mary Reynolds with her cats, no date

The Rattle Cat, 1969

Cat Lamp, 1928

Cat, sculpture,1930

Cat, mobile,1966

Go to https://calder.org/ for more information on this amazing artist.