I wanted to make art for animals. In order to make art for animals, I needed to know what kind of art animals would like. In order to know what kind of art animals would like, I needed to understand what it’s like to be an animal–what it’s like to see and hear and think and feel and behave like an animal. Thus, a series called Sketches for Art for Animals.
Catnaps
In this case, I took a series of catnaps during the middle of the workweek in order to better understand how cats operate. I took a twenty-minute catnap every Thursday afternoon that this exhibition was open.
While I wasn’t able to fall entirely asleep, I was able to achieve a very restful, peaceful state that helped me better appreciate the rest of my day.
You can hear sound recordings of the entirety of each of my naps: Nap 1, Nap 2, Nap 3. At first you’ll hear me getting ready to nap, then you’ll hear me napping, then you’ll hear me getting up. The microphone was in my chest pocket, so the sounds you can hear while I’m napping include my breathing and heartbeat (indistinctly, of course).
Catnaps for Everyone!
Cats are notoriously able to sleep any where and any time. In order to investigate this pattern of public sleeping, I created an environment for other people to take cat naps. I provided an alarm clock so the nappers could sleep for whatever amount of time they liked.
The first four are from Unit B gallery in San Antonio, the last one is from FIMA in Montreal.
Chris Wildrick 