Are cat videos the new opiate?
“Kittens” was the answer Tim Bernes Lees famously gave in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) when asked what was the one thing that surprised him most about the way his invention of the World Wide Web has been adopted, 25 years on.
It hardly needs stating: The Internet has provided us with instant access to an unprecedented amount of knowledge (power) and an incredible tool for mass communication (mobilization). Yet “Cats” is one of the most commonly searched for keywords, cat videos and images are among the highest viewed online content (described in the New York Times as ‘the essential building block of the Internet’), and cat celebrities are abound (Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, Maru, Nala Cat and Cattycake to name a few). An entire subculture has developed around LOLcat memes. Even Downing Street has entered the fray, with Larry The Cat (@DowningSTCat) and Palmerston (@DiploMog) attracting waves of excitement and followers on Twitter.
Why? It’s a question that may sound dumb to active participants of the sport, but has come to fascinate critics, psychologists, journalists, artists and curators alike. Nor is it trivial: the global patterns in how we use the Internet provide a unique insight into the fears, desires and preoccupations of our age. That we choose to spend our time browsing cat videos, pornography and online shopping sites says something. But what?
Procrastination is the most obvious response. Escapism seems to cut closer to the truth. No matter how shit your day’s been, watching a video of a cat fail an attempted leap, or prancing about in a ridiculous outfit, seems to have the power to lift many people’s mood. Whole bodies of research have emerged claiming to back this scientifically, with evidence of reduced anxiety, annoyance, sadness and higher levels of energy, focus and positivity overall among viewers at work. A quick-fix to pacify us for a while.
There’s also something to do with simplicity. Even the format of cat videos is reliable and, therefore, cathartic: always short, digestible and following the same traditional trajectory of buildup, high-drama, punchline and close. Perhaps acting as voyeurs to the comparative unwitting-ness and unintentional folly of these creatures on-screen, appeals to a widespread desire for greater control in our lives – while laughing at their anthropomorphication massages an innate sense of superiority.
The on-screen element is also important. Observing a cat do something silly online carries a much higher comedic value than in real life: it’s their 15 seconds of fame. While the Internet is often an inherently lonely, isolating place; responding to the same video that 12,000 other viewers have enjoyed makes you ‘in’ on the joke, and so part a wider community. The more ‘viral’, the better. If other humans are physically to hand, that’s also good, but not necessary.
Simplicity, community, escape. These are all basic, age old human wants of which the Internet seems to have become a quick source of nourishment, whilst ultimately intensifying our need and hunger for our daily mass consumption of cat videos typifies this.
Sara Jaspan
“Kittens” was the answer Tim Bernes Lees famously gave in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) when asked what was the one thing that surprised him most about the way his invention of the World Wide Web has been adopted, 25 years on.
It hardly needs stating: The Internet has provided us with instant access to an unprecedented amount of knowledge (power) and an incredible tool for mass communication (mobilization). Yet “Cats” is one of the most commonly searched for keywords, cat videos and images are among the highest viewed online content (described in the New York Times as ‘the essential building block of the Internet’), and cat celebrities are abound (Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, Maru, Nala Cat and Cattycake to name a few). An entire subculture has developed around LOLcat memes. Even Downing Street has entered the fray, with Larry The Cat (@DowningSTCat) and Palmerston (@DiploMog) attracting waves of excitement and followers on Twitter.
Why? It’s a question that may sound dumb to active participants of the sport, but has come to fascinate critics, psychologists, journalists, artists and curators alike. Nor is it trivial: the global patterns in how we use the Internet provide a unique insight into the fears, desires and preoccupations of our age. That we choose to spend our time browsing cat videos, pornography and online shopping sites says something. But what?
Procrastination is the most obvious response. Escapism seems to cut closer to the truth. No matter how shit your day’s been, watching a video of a cat fail an attempted leap, or prancing about in a ridiculous outfit, seems to have the power to lift many people’s mood. Whole bodies of research have emerged claiming to back this scientifically, with evidence of reduced anxiety, annoyance, sadness and higher levels of energy, focus and positivity overall among viewers at work. A quick-fix to pacify us for a while.
There’s also something to do with simplicity. Even the format of cat videos is reliable and, therefore, cathartic: always short, digestible and following the same traditional trajectory of buildup, high-drama, punchline and close. Perhaps acting as voyeurs to the comparative unwitting-ness and unintentional folly of these creatures on-screen, appeals to a widespread desire for greater control in our lives – while laughing at their anthropomorphication massages an innate sense of superiority.
The on-screen element is also important. Observing a cat do something silly online carries a much higher comedic value than in real life: it’s their 15 seconds of fame. While the Internet is often an inherently lonely, isolating place; responding to the same video that 12,000 other viewers have enjoyed makes you ‘in’ on the joke, and so part a wider community. The more ‘viral’, the better. If other humans are physically to hand, that’s also good, but not necessary.
Simplicity, community, escape. These are all basic, age old human wants of which the Internet seems to have become a quick source of nourishment, whilst ultimately intensifying our need and hunger for our daily mass consumption of cat videos typifies this.
Sara Jaspan
Narbi Price
Untitled (Frisky)
Pencil on Paper
Paper size - 23 x 30.5cm
Image size - 16 x 22cm
2016
£300
Click to Purchase via Paypal
Untitled (Frisky)
Pencil on Paper
Paper size - 23 x 30.5cm
Image size - 16 x 22cm
2016
£300
Click to Purchase via Paypal
Miho Sato
Untitled (Cat #2)
Oil on Paper
27 x 21cm
2016
Untitled (Cat #2)
Oil on Paper
27 x 21cm
2016
Miho Sato
Untitled (Cat #1)
Oil on Paper
21 x 26cm
2016
Untitled (Cat #1)
Oil on Paper
21 x 26cm
2016
The Royal Art Lodge
Bath Tugboat
Pencil on Post It, Acrylic on Board
15 x 15cm
2007
Private Collection
Bath Tugboat
Pencil on Post It, Acrylic on Board
15 x 15cm
2007
Private Collection
Ilona Kiss
Catman
Pencil on Bristol Board
30 x 21cm
2016
Catman
Pencil on Bristol Board
30 x 21cm
2016
Alli Sharma
Black Cat Red Bow
Oil on Paper
35 x 25cm
2016
Black Cat Red Bow
Oil on Paper
35 x 25cm
2016
Pär Strömberg
Satanic Feminist Kitten
Ink and watercolor on paper
23 x 20 cm
2016
£500
Purchase via Paypal
Satanic Feminist Kitten
Ink and watercolor on paper
23 x 20 cm
2016
£500
Purchase via Paypal
James Moore
A Silurean Warrior Abandons Cardiff AD74
Oil on Paper,
30cm x 20cm
2015
A Silurean Warrior Abandons Cardiff AD74
Oil on Paper,
30cm x 20cm
2015
David Miles
Felix
Watercolour & Ink on Paper
30 x 20cm
2009
Felix
Watercolour & Ink on Paper
30 x 20cm
2009
Lisa Wilkens
Three Nights
Unique Dry Point
14.5 x 21 cm
2011
Three Nights
Unique Dry Point
14.5 x 21 cm
2011
Leonhard Lapin
A Coloured Bird
Animated Cartoon
8' 41"
1974
Courtesy of Avangard Gallery, Parnu, Estonia
A Coloured Bird
Animated Cartoon
8' 41"
1974
Courtesy of Avangard Gallery, Parnu, Estonia
Peeter Allik
2 Kassi
Lino Cut on Paper
Edition of 50
10 x 8cm
2016
2 Kassi
Lino Cut on Paper
Edition of 50
10 x 8cm
2016
Simon Woolham
The Shed (Boo Boo)
Biro on Paper
30 x 42cm
2007
Our old cat Boo-Boo loved the shed roof, a good lookout spot for other cats and birds probably. She got really bad eczema later in life and her tail didn’t quite make it with her to the shed roof before she passed away there.
The Shed (Boo Boo)
Biro on Paper
30 x 42cm
2007
Our old cat Boo-Boo loved the shed roof, a good lookout spot for other cats and birds probably. She got really bad eczema later in life and her tail didn’t quite make it with her to the shed roof before she passed away there.
Claudia Alonso
Gato
Lino and Screenprint
Edition of 5
27 x 27cm
2016
Gato
Lino and Screenprint
Edition of 5
27 x 27cm
2016
Lucy May Schofield
This Cat Does Not Belong to Us
Monoprint on Newsprint
10 x 15cm
2013
£50
Click to Purchase via Paypal
This Cat Does Not Belong to Us
Monoprint on Newsprint
10 x 15cm
2013
£50
Click to Purchase via Paypal
Ruby Tingle
Collage on Paper
30 x 21cm
2016
Collage on Paper
30 x 21cm
2016
Mike Chavez-Dawson
Dæmon - Picasso and his Cat(s)
black ink, pencil and graphite on 200gsm A5 Black Archive Card
15 x 10cm
2016
Dæmon - Picasso and his Cat(s)
black ink, pencil and graphite on 200gsm A5 Black Archive Card
15 x 10cm
2016
Sarah Jeffries
Pepsi & Puma
Acrylic on Paper
32.5 x 42.5cm
2016
Pepsi & Puma
Acrylic on Paper
32.5 x 42.5cm
2016
Nahem Shoa
This was very tempting
Acrylic on Paper
40.5 cm x 30.5 cm
2016
This was very tempting
Acrylic on Paper
40.5 cm x 30.5 cm
2016
Alan Birch
St. Feline
Handcoloured Etching
Edition of 5
2016
St. Feline
Handcoloured Etching
Edition of 5
2016
Brian Reed
Sex
Laser print on 180gsm cartridge paper, mdf, glass and tape.
21 x 30cm
2016
Sex
Laser print on 180gsm cartridge paper, mdf, glass and tape.
21 x 30cm
2016
Brian Reed
Lost
Laser print on 180gsm cartridge paper, mdf, glass and tape.
21 x 25cm
2016
Lost
Laser print on 180gsm cartridge paper, mdf, glass and tape.
21 x 25cm
2016
Rui Matsunaga
Cat Observing Butterfly
Oil on paper
18 x 25 cm
2016
SOLD
Cat Observing Butterfly
Oil on paper
18 x 25 cm
2016
SOLD
Rui Matsunaga
Cat and Deer
Oil on paper
18 x 25 cm
2016
SOLD
Cat and Deer
Oil on paper
18 x 25 cm
2016
SOLD
Giulia Lanza
Unraveling n.1
Pencil on Paper
21 x 21cm
2016
Unraveling n.1
Pencil on Paper
21 x 21cm
2016
Hannah Wooll
It's a Jungle Out There
Acrylic Ink on Found Image
17 x 20cm
2016
£250 (framed)
Purchase via Paypal
It's a Jungle Out There
Acrylic Ink on Found Image
17 x 20cm
2016
£250 (framed)
Purchase via Paypal
Cathy Lomax
It woke him up because it was hungry (The Long Goodbye)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
£185
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It woke him up because it was hungry (The Long Goodbye)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
£185
Purchase via Paypal
Cathy Lomax
She loved the kitty (La Bete Humaine)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
She loved the kitty (La Bete Humaine)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
Cathy Lomax
She was trying to read (Bright Star)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
She was trying to read (Bright Star)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
Cathy Lomax
They took the kitten back to the pet shop (Cat People)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
£185
Purchase via Paypal
They took the kitten back to the pet shop (Cat People)
Oil on Paper
21 x 30cm
2016
£185
Purchase via Paypal
Installation Views
