Despite the fact that cats appear to be the dominate force on the internet, I concur with Svetlana Petrova that there should be more classical art that features cats.
FatCatArt is a project that Svetlana, an artist, is working on. In this project, she recreates renowned artworks by using her own orange cat, who is quite overweight. This cat has been included in over 250 well-known works of art, including making an appearance as a prominent figure in Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and even posing for a snapshot in Sir John Everett Millais’s painting of Ophelia. What are your thoughts on the matter? We believe that the presence of this cat only makes the paintings more remarkable.
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Original artwork: "The Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh.
loknam reached out to Svetlana, who graciously provided additional information regarding the narrative behind how she initially conceived of the idea for FatCatArt and what prompted her to merge classic works with the quirky presence of her orange cat.
"My cat, Zarathustra, was the initial source of inspiration for me. When my mother went away, I got a cat, and it was then that I became acquainted with this amazing feline. In reality, Zarathustra was the one who rescued me from the despair that followed shortly after. The fact that my mother had such a deep affection for the cat is, in my opinion, the reason why he acquired such a sensitive nature. He made the decision to pursue a career in modeling and performance art on his own. He took great pleasure in striking poses for photographs. His positions were so alluring, and his expressions were so intelligent that it seemed as if he was saying, "Paint me like these French girls...' So I did." -
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Given the importance of these health marketing issues, it is crucial for companies in the travel and mobile phone industries to highlight the value of these subjects. It is expected that future research findings will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of vacationers' selfie-taking behaviors. -
Zarathustra thought on his journeys throughout the history of art and its modern growth, and he displayed paintings done by great masters of the past and present with him as a meowdel and a Mews. This gave me a lot of encouragement, and I built the website FatCatArt.com, where he included these paintings.
As another source of motivation for this effort, I looked to the internet. I had a dream that I would conduct an experiment with the purpose of creating a meme for the internet that would be both beautiful and brilliant. This virus would bring some information and some stimulation to learn more. Rather than merely replicating what has been done in the past, it ought to be a virus that encourages individuals to be open to acquiring new knowledge. Originals should be searched for by everybody who comes across my cat drawings. There are a few of them that are worth a try, but it is important to note that not all of them do that. The paintings that have been altered to depict cats are a perfect example of what I consider to be a creative and beautiful meme. I gained a great deal of knowledge as a result of working on this project. I gained a lot of knowledge by studying the styles of past masters as well as their processes in order to create paintings that appear to be genuine paintings created by old masters.
Together with my mother, I spent every weekend of my childhood going to the Hermitage Museum.
Once that happened, Zarathustra the Cat appeared in my life. It was as if my mother had dispatched him to look after me while she was away and to escort me back to the museum.
A successful outcome was achieved by my experiment of generating an online meme about art history. Without any effort on my part, Zarathustra was able to dominate the World Wide Web and the paintings that were available on my website became viral on the internet. "Famous paintings improved by cats" went viral and became popular memes, both of which contributed to the Fat Cat Art project becoming a phenomenon on the internet. -
Furthermore, Svetlana provided additional information regarding her lovable orange cat, Zarathustra.
Zarathustra was a natural born artist, and he was aware that he was creating art. He was always extremely friendly to photographers, and he knew what a photographer was. He started flattering these individuals, which is incredible, considering how well he knew what a photographer was.
In my flat, there is a platform that is covered by a large carpet, and it appears like a stage. He had a room that was specifically designed for him to work as a model. As soon as Zarathustra expressed his desire to strike a position, he instructed me to travel to this location, where I would then lie down on this carpet and begin to strike really humorous poses while maintaining a very serious expression. He was able to make a variety of looks that were intensely expressive and had a rich mimicry.
In addition to this, he is possibly the only cat in the world to have become a contemporary artist on his own. In his career as an artist, he spent time working in the fields of performance art, institutional critiques, and appropriation art. Also, he was a personal friend of mine, and we had a great understanding of one another. In addition, he served as my inspiration (or Mews). Through him, I experienced a sense of closeness to my mother, who had passed away. If my mother were to see what we have accomplished together with him, I believe she would be overjoyed.
Regrettably, Zarathustra, who was only 16 years old at the time of his death, passed suddenly on December 16, 2021 due to pancreatitis. But through my artwork, he continues to exist. My computer is filled with a large number of photographs of him, and I am currently working on new paintings with him. Due to the fact that I am a member of the eternal digital universe, Zarathustra continues to exist in my artwork. Exactly how I feel about it is as follows. -
During our conversation, we were curious about the creative process that Svetlana goes through in order to replicate the paintings herself. In her presentation, she discussed the process by which she chooses which works to reinterpret, as well as the techniques required in digitally introducing cats.
Painting, photography, and computer art are all elements that are incorporated into the experimental art project known as Fat Cat Art.
I make use of photographs of Zarathustra the cat as well as scans of great paintings. I was able to take photographs with Zarathustra the cat with the assistance of a group of friends who are also experienced artists. When the cat wanted to pose, I took pictures of him every day. He loved posing, acting out different parts, and chatting. I also shot pictures of him every day.
At this point, Tyger Blake the cat is following in the footsteps of his illustrious founder.
In Photoshop, the images that make up FatCatArt are made.
Over twenty thousand photographs of my kitties are stored on my own computer. I carefully include the cat into the digital image of a well-known painting using photoshop. It is a problem since he needs to be able to fit precisely into a masterpiece, both in terms of posture and expression, and it can take several months prior to getting the perfect photograph. I print my works and then paint them, imitating the style of the great masters, in order to make the picture of the cat appear to be extremely natural in well-known masterpieces. -
It is not surprising that users on Instagram have a positive opinion of Svetlana's work. On the other hand, we were curious in the response that the artist received from viewers of FatCatArt that was the most unexpected or unforgettable.
"When people say that I improved an original painting," Svetlana shared, "I am flattered." If I may say so, I received comments like that rather frequently. Also, I adore it when museums that display original paintings share and praise my artworks. For example, the Albertina Museum has praised my interpretation of Albrecht Durer's "Hare," and the Van Gogh Museum has said things like, "Who would have thought the Starry Night by @fatcatart would get more likes than the Starry Night itself?" It is the post that has received the most likes on our page!'"
An additional list of Svetlana's all-time favorite musicians was also presented by her: Quite a few of them! I have a deep appreciation for every artist that I have recreated, including Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Hieronymus Bosch, and Edward Hopper. Enjoy!
"Adopt a cat," she said as a final piece of advice.
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