The final visitor caption!
So, here we are. The last week of the exhibition Communicating Through Cats: The Art and Mind of Louis Wain. I do hope you have had a chance to see the wonderful and diverse collection of Wain paintings on display at Brent Museum – the first (but by no means last) exhibition of one of the borough’s most famous local artists. It has been a pleasure to watch, read and hear about the many ways that visitors have enjoyed and been inspired by the artwork of Louis Wain, and I hope that you too have enjoyed reading the selection of the visitor captions posted on our blog. There were many, many more and it proved more difficult than expected to select those few to go online! So thank you to all of those who contributed thoughts and responses to the exhibition by writing object captions, they have all be collected and recorded.
The final visitor caption, then, refers to the painting ‘Kaliedoscope Cat 3: Electric Cat’.
Visitor caption: 'Interesting that there is now a theory among scientists that purring is a form of 'healing energy' that cats use to heal themselves and which may also benefit humans. Perhaps Louis Wain sensed this in some way...'
And here is a final ‘cat fact’ for you: As suggested in the visitor’s caption, purring is often believed to be a way for cats to communicate contentment, but it can also signal the need for help. For example, injured cats have been observed purring loudly when in great pain. So perhaps purring is better interpreted as an act of ‘selfsoothing’, in the same way as painting for Louis Wain was an act of self-soothing as well as joy…
Kaliedoscope Cat 3, ‘Electric Cat’ by Louis Wain. On loan from Bethlem Art and History Collections Trust.
Post by Briony
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