Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics
by Heather Busch & Burton Silver
Why Cats Paint is presented as a serious work of art criticism. It includes photographic documentation of cats’ “works,” analysis of individual artists’ styles, and scholarly commentary on the emerging field of feline aesthetics.
The cats have names. The cats have artistic identities. One cat, according to the authors, works primarily in the gestural abstract tradition. Another shows a clear influence from the Fauvist movement. This is presented without irony.
The book is a parody, of course — but a remarkably committed one. Busch and Silver maintain the academic register throughout, and the photography is genuinely high quality. At a glance, it reads exactly like the kind of coffee table art book you’d find in a gallery shop.
The joke, if there is one, is how thoroughly it makes you consider the question. Do cats have aesthetic preferences? Do they make deliberate marks? Does it matter? The book doesn’t answer these questions so much as perform the act of asking them at great length and expense.
It spawned a sequel, Dancing with Cats, which is exactly what you think it is.