My cat as Missing Piece...

This is our cat Winston, presented as a lost puzzle piece for a project I did a couple of years ago. The object of the Missing Pieces show's is to capture the odd feeling of curiousity one can feel when finding a puzzle piece under the couch or in the bottom of the closet. Where did it come from? what exists beyond the frame.
After working with them a lot, I've also come to really love the way the irregular framing moves the eye about the image in unusual ways.



The finished piece is printed out on 11x14 paper then mounted on foamcore and laboriously cut free by my wife with an exacto knife.

Shot with my D1x, 24-105 macro prolly wide open (f4), iso 320 i think. Need to dredge up the original to get the exif data.

Go ahead.. rip him apart boyz...

First Louis I like the concept; the single piece of a jig-saw puzzle! Frankly I have not seen this before although this might be something that others know better.

So is it successful?

That depnds on the goal of a project. The description of the intended idea of invoking curiousity is satisfying. The work is technically fine but technicality is sufficient for making furniture but not necessarily for art. That is just my opinion and not handed down from Mount Sinai!

So the question is then, is it art?

Let me start again. I like the concept and the technical finish of the cut-out. I am, however somewhat short-changed in satisfying the expectations that come from your description.

I, myself am not intrigued by what else might be in the whole picture, since I have seen many cats!

I fact I have owned several, avoided many black ones crossing in front of me and photographed one for an hour at the apaprtment of the brother of Mike Spinak. So seeing what you have shown, I have seen the whole cat. Now if there was a tail on the left or the teeth of a dog on the right, maybe, just maybe my interest would be sparked further.

Now none of this detracts from the commercial success of such a piece for the family that has Winston, ie you or any other pet owner, just like a team league photograph on a plaque is precious to everyone involved and the entire school, people outside that circle may not be moved.

So, for me, at least, the puzzle part does not work since I am not puzzled. The work however is successful since it shows and celebrates something precious to a circle of folk.

All this does not take away from the fact that I come away with more than I started with after studying your work. It is indeed one piece of the puzzle. and the question is might ask is indeed, What is art? Now in that specific limited world sense, if feeling come with it, then sure, it is art. Still, art in general should, at it's best, rise above the specific and become symbolic of more of the human experience.


This sparks in me some further questions. What might make isolated piece have tension, ask questions and transcend the particular to have more meaning? so this single piece of a cross word puzzle is a valuable learning excercise!

Thanks for sharing!

Asher

Louis Doench said:

This is our cat Winston, presented as a lost puzzle piece for a project I did a couple of years ago. The object of the Missing Pieces show's is to capture the odd feeling of curiousity one can feel when finding a puzzle piece under the couch or in the bottom of the closet. Where did it come from? what exists beyond the frame.
After working with them a lot, I've also come to really love the way the irregular framing moves the eye about the image in unusual ways.

The finished piece is printed out on 11x14 paper then mounted on foamcore and laboriously cut free by my wife with an exacto knife.

Shot with my D1x, 24-105 macro prolly wide open (f4), iso 320 i think. Need to dredge up the original to get the exif data.

Go ahead.. rip him apart boyz...

Click to expand...

Thanx Asher. You're absolutely right that this particular piece doesn't quite fulfill the entire promise of the project. Not all of them have, this one just happens to be the only version of my Winston shot I can find, so i posted it here. Oddly enuough, in terms of "is it art", this is the only one of these from the first show that sold, to a cat lover actually.... despite the fact that I think this


or this


are both stronger images that fit the theme better.

Louis Doench said:

Thanx Asher. You're absolutely right that this particular piece doesn't quite fulfill the entire promise of the project. Not all of them have, this one just happens to be the only version of my Winston shot I can find, so i posted it here. Oddly enuough, in terms of "is it art", this is the only one of these from the first show that sold, to a cat lover actually.... despite the fact that I think this

or this

are both stronger images that fit the theme better.

Click to expand...

Thanks for sportingly allowing my critique!

The last one of these two new pieces, doesn't catch me as yet.

I find the first of the new pieces at first rather amusing and it gets atention because it resembles a child's outline of a person. The round handle projecting forward makes a primitive face.

The word "GUM' is intriguing. What could that mean? That question is merely rhetorical.

This image has moved much further from the cat piece. It is novel, at least to me. Also I am not sure of the whole object of which this piece is a fragment. So the stage is set for inquisitveness.

Now we go to attractiveness and use of color and texture. This after all is on the path to being 3 dimensionsl. You have ventured to creat that appearance by mounting on material to give it thicknes and the shape gives it form.

Have you considered going further.

I'm wondering about adding color and texture as an option to bring out your ideas. One might think of acrylic paint or other ways of adding to the surface if that fits in with your own creative vision. I'm not saying this piece needs any of that, but in general this is an option worth exploring.

Thanks for adding more.

Asher