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Heather Busch

Burton Silver

Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 1994

by Heather Busch (Author), Burton Silver (Author)

271 ratings

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An unprecedented photographic record of cat creativity that will intrigue cat lovers and art lovers alike.

Print length

96 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ten Speed Press
Publication date

May 1, 1994
Dimensions

9.6 x 0.35 x 11 inches
ISBN-10

9780898156126
ISBN-13

978-0898156126
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The National Examiner featured “Pussycat Picassos” claiming that “feline paintings will make you paws” and calling the book “captivating.”

About the Author

BURTON SILVER is a cartoonist, inventor, and author of more than a dozen books, including the best-selling WHY CATS PAINT. Silver studied psychology and sociology at Victoria University. He lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

HEATHER BUSCH has been a visual artist for nearly 30 years and is drawn to perceptions and paradigms that expand and entertain her mind. She has a fine arts degree in sculpture and has become internationally recognized for her paintings and photography. She lives in New Zealand.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0898156122
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press (May 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780898156126
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0898156126
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.6 x 0.35 x 11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #233,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #42 in Still Life Painting
- #58 in Cat Training
- #101 in Animal Behavior & Communication

Customer Reviews:
271 ratings

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Heather Busch
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Customer reviews

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3 star		2%
2 star		2%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Benthamite

Raises the question, why this type of behavior?

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019

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I enjoyed this book, too many different cats for this to be accidental. Then last month, I went out with a friend, Carol, whe had left a 18 x 12" flat box in the living room near the front door which had an inch of soil in it. She also has two mature female cats. When we .came back two hour later her Maine coon cat was sitting in the box, spread out over the ceramic tile floor about 4 square feet area was about 25% of the dirt from the box. She had expressed her artistic drive with the dirt. It was her look of pride, the look when a cat has done something good as a gesture of affection. She was look at us, sitting tall, expecting us to pet her approvingly.

I would have went over an pet her approvingly, but carol was already in the kitchen with a dust pan and broom, and I being a guest didn't feel like reinforcing the cat for her dirt arrangement was appropriate.

The next day I gave Carol my "Why Cats Paint" so that she would understand what had occurred.

Yes some cats will paint or rearrange objects to express the artistic drive. It is not common, and occurs only when there is a friendship between the person and the cat. If she hadn't just finished, she would be sitting elsewhere and I wouldn't have recognized her creative. I would have that that the 2 cats were playing in the dirt.

As by training a philosopher, I can see a parallel with human art and decorating, and cats painting. We are more complicated, and as a social animal it is much different than cat painting. But there is something that drives us both. There is also on YouTube examples of elephants painting--they do much better than cats.

One part of the answer is that when alone and looking at visually interesting scenes the brain relaxes, get s out of the focus mode. Art on the wall and nick-nacks help me relax.

10 people found this helpful

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Rose

CATS REALLY PAINT??

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020

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I love this book. At first glance, I wondered if it was a clever ruse- but apparently, some cats DO paint! The illustrations are just beautiful- and I love the cute descriptions and pictures of the feline artists.
I've always pondered the esthetics and understanding of pets- this book is a delightful eye-opener.
Soon, I'm going to put paper up on a wall, with a dish of acrylic paint, and see if my 2 cats rise to the occasion! The book stated some cat art fetches $15K!!! Now, that covers a lot of kitty litter.

2 people found this helpful

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Aurora

Hilarious, one of a kind!

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2015

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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!

18 people found this helpful

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Happy Reader

It's a hoot

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2019

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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.

One person found this helpful

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Joanna C

This book should be required reading for all art critics ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2016

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This book should be required reading for all art critics, art history instructors and museum docents. It is hilarious!

16 people found this helpful

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Sara Woodbury

A seminal work in the study of feline art

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2014

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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?

29 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

My granddaughter loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2021

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My granddaughter is does a lot of different types of painting and artwork and is a cat lover. I got this as a gift for her and she loved it! I told her "Who knows what talent those little paws have in them!" So we shall see.

Helpful

Peevishgrl

Hilarious!

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book always makes me laugh!
So very expertly written.
For the art historian and cat lovers in all of us.
Makes a great gift too!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tara Millar

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2018

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this is the best! Bought it twice for different friends and they thought was hilarious. Jokes aside it was actually quite interesting and has chapters on history of cats, well known artists and other types of cat art -namely clawing your sofa to threads. It’s take itself quite seriously so would prob suit a cat lover or just someone who loves different weird books

One person found this helpful

Carley

A strange but fantastic read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

Wow this was interesting.The science behind it was baffling but truly fascinating.I read with great thought and I would recommend this to both artists and cat lovers .

One person found this helpful

maryapple

Small. Probably a bit steep for the size.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

Book bloody tiny.

MJF

A brilliant parody or pretentious modern art fads

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2018

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Absolutely hilarious! A brilliant parody or pretentious modern art fads.

Martin X

Despite the discrimination against the superior artistry of dogs this is a work of joyful ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

Despite the discrimination against the superior artistry of dogs this is a work of joyful exploration and has much to justify the purchase.

One person found this helpful

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