Time magazine called it “The World’s Best Collection of Cat Art.” The Huffington Post said it was “the Cat-Centric Exhibition to End All Cat-Centric Exhibitons.” I called it “part cat, part art, and part Hollywood.” What was it? Cat Art Show | Los Angeles, an exhibition that ran in January and February curated by Susan Michals, an experienced entertainment journalist I interviewed in December and someone I’ve known since 1980grumblegurglesomething. The video below further demonstrates how well the show went over, and Susan is busy laying groundwork for the second Cat Art Show, including a cat-art contest on Instagram called Artify Your Cat that I’ll tell you more about once you’ve watched the video.
Before I tell you how the Instagram contest works, I’ll tell you what you might win: A signed, limited edition print of “Radical Cat” by Shepard Fairey (best known for his propaganda-poster-inspired prints “OBEY” and “HOPE,” the latter featuring Barack Obama — he’s the first one speaking in the video above), and part of the reason why Cat Art Show | Los Angeles was a big deal.
To have a shot at winning this print, Susan says, take a photo of your favorite cat, “which could be any cat — your cat, my cat, Ian Somerhalder’s cat even,” then “artify” that image with one of the following smart phone apps: Repix, Camera360, or HelloCamera. (Some of the contest entries are below.)
Once you’ve done that, post it on Instagram with the hashtags #catartshow and #catartshowla, as well as the app you used (example #Repix).
“Every week,” Susan says, “we’ll post our favorite pic of the week on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and each week we will select one finalist who will get an official Cat Art Show LA poster.”
On April 15, she and her minions and associates will choose one winner from the finalists, and that person will get the signed “Radical Cat” print.
How limited is this limited edition print? “Only 100 were printed, and they sold out within 15 minutes,” Susan says.
She says there have been more than 500 entries thus far, so once you create your own cat art, you can search through all the other entries. Susan says people can enter as often as they like, but the hashtags above have to be part of the entry to be eligible.
“I thought it was the perfect way to get some new followers and see how artistic people could get,” she says.
Okay, all you cat-head biscuits, go get artsy!
Is a cat your muse? Have you included images of your cat — or any cat — in your artwork? Do you plan to enter the Artify Your Cat contest?
Cat Dandy says fine art and cats collide beautifully:
- We Chat with Courtney Hatt, Co-Founder of San Francisco’s First Cat Cafe
- My Cat Got Stoned and Spent the Night in His New Hot Tub
- Jackson Galaxy Interview: The Cat Daddy Meets the Cat Dandy
About Keith Bowers: This broad-shouldered, bald-headed, leather-clad motorcyclist also has passions for sharp clothing, silver accessories, great writing, the arts, and cats. This career journalist loves painting, sculpting, photographing, and getting on stage. He once was called “a high-powered mutant,” which also describes his cat, Thomas. He is senior editor at Catster and Dogster.
