The Art of Cat
#catvidfest
Much of art stems from breaking down the simple moments, interactions, movements, expressions, and imaginations in our lives, presenting itself in a sensory and perceptive form. Like… CAT VIDEOS!
Last summer, the Walker Art Center presented the debut of the Internet Cat Video Festival (#catvidfest). The event was wildly successful, setting the stage for copy-cat festivals around the country. With over 10,000 attendees, the #catvidfest was full of a-mew-sing cat videos (79 to be exact), a few friendly felines, and thousands of LOLing cat enthusiasts.
This week, on August 28, Walker Art Center will screen their second annual Internet Cat Video Festival at the Great Minnesota Get-Together (aka, the Minnesota State Fair) on an even larger scale. What better way to say "‘til next year" to summer with deep fried candy bars, anything you can imagine on a stick, and… cats?! I’m not kitten around. The 2013 Internet Cat Video Festival will feature videos, live music, art projects, animal resource nonprofits, and special guests, including celebrity cat sensation, Grumpy Cat. The winner of the 2012 #catvidfest and world’s first feline philosopher, Henri Le Chat Noir, will be, among other celebrity cats, struttin’ his stuff and purring for his close-up at the 2013 Internet Cat Video Festival. Henri Le Chat Noir was presented with the most prestigious hardware in all of cat history, the Golden Kitty.
As a lifetime cat lover, I think this is totally awesome. But maybe you’re thinking… you’ve cat to be kitten me right meow? Or not. Either way, why is it that this cat-crazy festival is off the charts in popularity? Cat videos have been a phenomenon seizing the World Wide Web for some time now. But… why? Why is an art museum hosting a festival about cats, of all things?
As an avid cat video viewer, I can tell you that simply watching a cat video during a paws in your busy day is guaranteed to boost your mood. Fur real! Watching a silly cat video is what many find themselves doing while surfing the web. The brilliant mind that rattled off this crazy idea, Katie Czarniecki Hill, called the Internet Cat Vide Festival an “interesting social experiment,” putting something that is usually done on a small scale onto a really large scale.
I am pawsitive that attending the upcoming Internet Cat Video Festival will brighten your day. (It’s difficult to know where to draw feline when it comes to cat jokes…) Anyway, join the mewvement!
What other artistic and/or social experiments do you know of that reflect an aspect of our everyday lives? Will you be at the next Internet Cat Video Festival? Let us know what you think about this cat fest!
Check out the cat videos selected for the 2013 Internet Cat Video Festival. The winner will be announced at the festival on August 28.