As I sit here enjoying this shot, my own cat is planted to the right of my laptop, tail twitching lazily. She's anxious for the warmth from under the machine to build up. When it does, she'll try to fold herself around the corner. I see the same combination of soft rounded lines with rectilinear shapes in this wood carving. Indeed, even the patterns of light and shadow playing against the background tiles engages in the same visual play. Charring the wood enhanced its flowing grain, suggesting that the sculptor intended the same dynamic of straight versus organic to be in play.
What I like most is the piece's success in conveying the quixotic relationship between man and feline. By comparison to the wee puss, the man is a hulking giant. However, the blocky fingers suggest his lack of fluid grace in comparison to the tiny descendant of lion and leopard. Together the man and cat have achieved a relationship unlike any other in the world of animate beings. We humans give protection, affection, warmth and sustenance. The cat gives its lissome grace, its diminutive glimpse of the untamed world and occasionally, a caress. And somehow this peculiar bargain balances perfectly to the satisfaction of both.
If I were the sculptor, I would treasure this photograph for its eloquent presentation of my work.
