Anyssa Carruthers
Artist Statement on The Owl and The Pussy Cat (full)
This painting, The Owl and the Pussycat, was a reaction to something that happened during the semester that disrupted my original focus, it released me from another painting of attempting controlled technique to just painting emotionally and provided release from the frustration of a personal attack to my ego, invasion of my space and the loss of 2 projects I had been working on for quite some time.
So wanting to deal with disappointment/anger I turned to this canvas which was already to be repainted and needed reworking. It is connected to a previous painting I did, which was Pollackian in style and was done after another emotionally frustrating experience as well as watching “What the Bleep” which deals with quantum physics. Quantum Prayer was acrylic on a 8x3” canvas done in 2005.
One premise in this painting “The Owl and the Pussy Cat” is that like the wavelengths of atoms our actions and thoughts can affect how and who we are as well as those around us even without intention. Basically attempting to deal with quantum mechanics vs. the idea that is easier for some of us to grasp, Newtonian mechanics. This would describe the backdrop of this painting. With the paint drops and circular motion and masked out objects over the cement textured canvas.
Since my first attempt at this style, with “Quantum Prayer” I have been learning more about what it takes to get a message out to an audience and communicate values. Learning that by adding certain key values, icons or even just a color, I can make a connection with the audience and communicate with them. I cannot control what part of the image they will value, or how they react to it. I do enjoy being able to create a piece of work that can get a reaction from someone, even if it’s just getting them to stop, turn their head and ask themselves an internal question or have a deja vue moment with a certain color.
More particular to “The Owl and the Pussy Cats” I was wanting an emotionally driven painting but with some clear archetypal paths in it to follow if you wanted to go from a basic visual experience to hopefully something that will cause a visceral/intrinsic reaction. The foreground layer brings in a far more articulate picture and has us deal with the allegory and archetypes of the Owl and the Pussy Cat, that have been brought together visually here through Leary’s Poem, ”The Owl and the Pussy Cat” Which is about two opposite beasts finding love and marriage, they must sail off to sea to find happiness and leave dry ground to overcome the diversity of their relationship. The drawing is a direct translation from the author’s own sketch for the poem. Many of Leary’s sketches are playful and simple like this but somehow I don’t find them cute, they have a hard edge to them unlike a character from Peanuts or Garfield.
One of the most exciting parts of doing this project, other than the emotional release, was doing the research on the owl and cat archetypes and allegories knowing full well that Lear probably wrote it to be “nonsense”.
This painting gave me the archetypal study I enjoy and gives what appears to be a light hearted painting some depth, if only in my own eyes. I wanted to challenge my values and use this childhood poem to learn more, many childhood verses were secular/pagan ways to warn about dangers and obstacles in life.
To start in on the owl who in North American tradition is usual seen as “the quintessential bearers of knowledge and sagacity.” (www.owlpages.com/) and in this case also a musician, I looked at Native totems for example where the owl is a good example of a creature that possesses special powers not found in other animals (McGaa 1990), or one who can dissolve the night with his eyes, but if you look at other cultures and the root of the word you do not get such a positive reflection of the bird. “The standard pigeon English name for owl in West Africa is "witchbird" (Cocker 2000- http://www.owlpages.com/)
In the ancient world, the cat symbolized fertility, motherhood, the moon and sometimes the sun. An icon that came out of Egypt, it then became familiar of witches, considered wise for their lack of attachment to others. It’s one of earths few domesticated creatures who would leave a warm hearth, on a cold night to hunt, and return without a hair out of place. It is said that it was one of only 2 creatures that laughed when the Buddha died.
There are many stories of farmers attacked in the fields by cats, maiming them in self-protection and returning to the house and finding that one of the women of the household had similar injuries.
“In medieval Europe, paranoia and superstition turned the cat into a villain and enemy of the church. Accused of witchcraft and sorcery, the cat came to symbolize all things bad: lasciviousness, pride, envy, treachery and the very devil himself.” In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull, which condemned to death all cats and their human companions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,771126,00.html (sic) From the Catholic Encyclopedia
There are many references to owls in the bible, most of them rather morbid and in the company of scavengers such as ravens. But one reference that came up that pulls the good “Winnie the Pooh” Owl and the evil together in my research was
Romans 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…
And I think this final quote really defines my painting as both these characters have so many faces to different cultures and within peoples personal experiences that to try to define how they should be interpreted or believe what I have to say about them…..would truly be foolish. The viewers own reaction and the allegory it creates for them, will be all that counts once the painting is hung on the wall.
“About: EDWARD LEAR - b1812 London, England--d.1888,Italy __The twentieth child of Jeremiah Lear, a London stockbroker, and his wife Ann, Lear grew up to become a prolific writer as well as a talented artist of both landscapes and birds . Lear also gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria of England. Lear was particularly enchanted with nonsense poetry”
“In medieval Europe, paranoia and superstition turned the cat into a villain and enemy of the church. Accused of witchcraft and sorcery, the cat came to symbolize all things bad: lasciviousness, pride, envy, treachery and the very devil himself.” In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull, which condemned to death all cats and their human companions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,771126,00.html (sic) From the Catholic Encyclopedia
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