Death by Cat October 9, 2009

A scandalous collection of photographs of dead animals left on artist Bruce Wolf's doorstep by his 33 stray cats opens Friday, October 9 at Gold Bug, 22 East Union Street in Pasadena, California.

Called Death by Cat, the exhibition is modeled on the Victorian fetish of preserving the memory of deceased relatives by photographing them in realistic poses. Likewise, the exhibition is a memorial to the ravaged animals, some comic, some gruesome and others revealing the fear and violence of their final moments. The New York-based artist, who lives in a 200-year old farmhouse in rural Westchester County where his cats prowl on more than 70 acres of woodlands, will be present at this inaugural exhibition, which is free and open to the public.

Death by Cat is inspired by the Victorian book, Sleeping Beauties, in which cadavers were depicted on their death beds. States Wolf, "Corpses were posed to be as lifelike as possible and even restored when they died from a violent act or accident. Of course the success of these photographic restorations varied considerably, but the images are very powerful."

Also present will be California assemblage artist Jack Howe, who will elaborate the amazing stories behind his painstaking constructions created from war relics, religious artifacts, figurines, icons, tin-type photographs, antiquarian objects, medallions and other found objects. Filled with meaning, Howe's assemblages narrate fantastic romances, fables, mythologies and invented symbolism.

Howe will talk about the thought processes at work in such assemblages as the monumental Temple of the Domestics, a wooden obelisk covered in ceramic icons, images of domestic animals and mythological creatures; Shrine to Breasts, a pocket shrine made from wooden boxes and filled with protective iconography, and Eye on Her Life, consisting of palmistry references, Catholic saint medallions and a doll with keys hanging from it.

Attendees can also learn about insect husbandry, as well as put their entomophobia to the test, at the Insect Petting Zoo featuring spiny walking sticks, hissing cockroaches, scorpions, luna moth caterpillars and tarantulas. Insects are courtesy of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, and special handlers from the Museum will be on-hand to inform and answer questions about these misunderstood creatures.

Official Website: http://www.goldbugpasadena.com