Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics
by Burton Silver and Heather Busch
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Berkeley: Ten Speed Press 2002 96pp $16.95
Outrageously creative body painting on cats.
The reviewer's first reaction was actually a negative one, considering that cats probably would not volunteer to participate as canvasses in this decorative display of human creativity. The authors explain that cats have been painted in India and Japanfor centuries, and that there are petting rituals for preparingthem to participate in this experience. In Ayuba, an independentterritory of Botswana inAfrica, cat faces are ritually painted to ward off evil spirits. A sign from the cat is required prior to commencing with the painting.
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In contemporary western countries, this is now a fad. The results can be astoundingly beautiful. |
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The reviewer is still left wondering about what cats' rights advocates would say, and still hesitant to recommend a book that appeared to be potentially unfriendly to felines, until his daughter showed him a book of parallel beautiful examples of human body painting: Roberto Edwards (Photographer), Painted Bodies: By Forty-Five Chilean Artists, Abbeville Press 1996
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