Missing Cat Poster or Art?
In 2002, artist Tracey Emin's cat, Docket, went missing. So she put up 'missing cat' posters around her neighborhood. But since she was a famous artist, people immediately began taking the posters down and selling them. Reportedly, they fetched prices as high as £500 each.
This prompted a spokeswoman from Emin's gallery to issue a statement: "Tracey does deal with memorabilia, but the posters are not works of art, it's simply a notice of her missing cat to alert neighbours."
Artist Tamarin Norwood, on her blog, offers these thoughts on the sociology of what was going on with the pilfered Missing Cat posters:
The Missing Cat posters are problematic because the moment they reach a public they are coopted by the poncif already set up by the artist, and as such they become arranged "as part of [her] oeuvre". They are readily coopted because Emin’s particular trademark is "near-absolute identification of the artist with her work": work that is characterized by confessional and subjective autobiographical content that the posters also supply. We might say that Emin has created a convincing, life-sized tableau of her life, and it is difficult to exclude from this tableau anything she does or produces.
Incidentally, Docket was eventually found.
More info: BBC News (Mar 28, 2002)
Comments
Since this was the individual wo gave the world the 'art' (apply the term as you see fit) My Bed, her Lost Cat posters may be valued as a form of normalcy.
Plus it's a cool-looking cat.
Plus it's a cool-looking cat.
Posted by crc on 02/22/18 at 07:36 AM
In other words, "stop whining, you brought this on yourself". Which it's hard to argue with.
By the way, the first translation of the word "poncif" is "banality". Which I find apt both for La Émin, and for someone who'd prefer the word "poncif" to "banality".
By the way, the first translation of the word "poncif" is "banality". Which I find apt both for La Émin, and for someone who'd prefer the word "poncif" to "banality".
Posted by Richard Bos on 02/24/18 at 04:52 AM
Surprised she didn’t just print it out from a computer, which nearly anyone else would have done.
Posted by Brian on 02/24/18 at 02:18 PM
Brian, this happened in 2002, back when there were still people without computers.
Posted by ges on 02/24/18 at 09:10 PM
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Category: Art | Cats | 2000s