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Helicopter cat soars in priceWednesday 06 June 2012 The cost of a Dutch work of art featuring a stuffed cat crossed with a helicopter has gone through the roof following worldwide media attention, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. Bart Jansen, who stuffed his pet cat Orville after it was run over by a car, had originally put a €12,500 price tag on the piece, which was on display in Amsterdam as part of the KunstRai art fair. 'The work has not yet been sold but we have an offer of €100,000 on the table,' Jansen's dealer Geoffrey van Vugt told the paper. Tradition The paper points out Jansen is the latest in a long line of artists who have used dead animals in art, from Robert Rauschenberg to Damien Hirst and Thomas Grunfeld. Nevertheless the project has been heavily criticised by animal lovers. The RAI exhibition centre has been painted with 'kill the animal killers' graffitti and the animal welfare party PvdD says it is writing to the art fair organisers in protest. Last year, Dutch conceptual artist known as Tinkebell was found not guilty of animal cruelty for an exhibit featuring 95 hamsters in exercise balls. She had earlier caused outrage for killing her 'depressed' pet cat and turning it into a handbag. The Volkskrant says Jansen decided to turn Orville into an aircraft because the cat and his brother Wilbur had been named after the pioneering Wright brothers. Wilbur is still alive. © DutchNews.nl
It's absolutely shameful that this attention-seeking, cold-hearted garbage can be called "art". Who could do that to their pet? No one with a normal sense of empathy and care, anyway. Why do Dutch artists keep coming up with this crap? By bobbianderson | June 6, 2012 11:29 AM This is disgusting and very cold. I wouldn't trust a person who's as cold and callous as that about his/her own pet, or animals in general for that matter. As for Tinkebell, she should have been held accountable for killing her "depressed" cat and making it into a handbag. If she reproduces, child welfare needs to keep a very close eye on her! By Sharon | June 6, 2012 1:47 PM What's the problem, he's dead By radio junkie | June 6, 2012 4:06 PM There's something a little odd about this. If you want to remember / honour your pet, have them stuffed and put them on a shelf, but don't turn them into a toy. Surely not? Some people are simply crazy. We call them artists. By A Nonny Mouse | June 6, 2012 4:16 PM How sickening of an irresponsible pet owner to turn this innocent creature into a profit. This absolutely disgusts me. Keep your cats INDOORS, people. The battle between a tiny kitty and an automobile is entirely unbalanced and will always result in the death of your cat. Even though living outside is good for the nature of a cat, our society is way too dangerous and inconsiderate for such small, innocent creatures to be outside the home. What a vile human being. By Stupid | June 6, 2012 8:22 PM this is a wonderful idea! next time a dead mouse turns up in my flat it's getting converted into a biplane! By slim jim | June 6, 2012 10:47 PM Wierd! By Donaugh | June 7, 2012 8:13 AM I love it, the kitty gets a second life! Frankly anyone who feels they have the right to tell anohter person what to do with their dead cats should get a life of their own. By MagicMarko | June 7, 2012 8:22 AM The cat is dead you know and he did not kill it. It is not really cruelty if the cat is dead. He loved it when it was alive and now make something from it's skin and sell it. Not really high art but as far as animal rights go, this is way way down the list of priorities. By Craig | June 7, 2012 8:47 AM oh how sick is this !! leave the dead animals alone, they're not your toys.. By Ozzix | June 7, 2012 8:51 AM The cat was already dead, no evil was done. Moralists and alike should stfu. By madjestic | June 7, 2012 9:16 AM I find heli-cat awesome. Certainly much more interesting and human than some ways people treat their alive pets and house animals. Plus the cat looks happy this way. By BBB | June 7, 2012 9:31 AM @Stupid: cats are naturally outdoor animals. They know by instinct how to avoid most dangers, including most cars. The cat was dead in an accident. I don't see how this can be "cruel" or something. It is not like he bred the cat and euthanized it. By Andre L. | June 7, 2012 10:50 AM The cat was dead before he turned him into a flying machine! I'd like to be turned into a flying machine when I die! By Jayo | June 7, 2012 3:04 PM I'm going to do this to my living cat; it'll be awesome! By Martyn | June 7, 2012 3:08 PM I don't see why people think the issue is cruelty. It's obviously not. It's the disgusting mentality it takes for a person to do that to what would be, to a normal individual, a dead family member. And the fact that the Dutch "art" world are encouraging this. It makes me ashamed to be an artist. By bobbianderson | June 7, 2012 6:10 PM @Andre: Oh yeah? Most cats can avoid dangers? You obviously have not worked in an animal shelter and seen all the horrible things that happen to animals out in our hostile world. If someone were to let their two year old wander outside and they get killed in an accident, it would be considered neglect. And that is what this is. Our evil society is NOT a natural environment for a cat. Just because it is "outside" doesn't mean it is safe. This cat owner is a horrible, vile, disgusting human being, and not just for letting his cat outside, but for disrespecting and defiling its corpse. I wish I could punch him in the face myself. This would be highly illegal to do to the body of a child, and it should be equally as illegal to do it to an animal. If we cannot respect animals, of which we are a part, our society is completely doomed. By Stupid | June 7, 2012 6:25 PM @Stupid Yours and similar comments above make it difficult to disagree. By madjestic | June 7, 2012 8:31 PM @Stupid: if you think an animal corpse (killed by accident, let's reinforce) is sacred as an human body, I think there are further issues to be discussed then. You also call our society "evil" ipsis literis. Are you part of those movements who think humans should voluntarily reduce themselves to no more than a few hundred million? By Andre L. | June 7, 2012 11:24 PM @stupid: But it's not a child, it's a cat and a cats natural habitat is in the great out doors! In fact, it's cruel to keep a cat locked up in doors as it has a natural instinct to hunt. Even cats that have never been outside show these instincts! Keeping animals in cages, which is what you do if you lock up a cat, is cruelty of the highest order. Just because it's been reared in captivity doesn't make it right. Free the cats! By Jayo | June 8, 2012 8:25 AM @Stupid: This is the advantage of giving all living cats four propellers; with the advantage of flight, they can easily avoid the evilness of the modern city. As an added bonus, they will no longer be able to dig up my garden and defecate in it. The downside of course is that birds pooping on our heads will be the least of our worries. By Martyn | June 8, 2012 8:29 AM @Stupid - I don't see anything wrong with this. What's worse, him turning his dead cat into a toy, or people turning living cows into leather for shoes and bags? By Mike | June 8, 2012 8:38 AM Is this worse than people wearing leather shoes? Making leather baseball gloves? Rabbit fur coats? Eating meat? We turn dead animals into all kinds of things. The only difference here is that you can see the cat's face, and this upsets people. What's the difference if a dead animal is used for food, clothing, sport, or art? Check out an average chicken farm if you want to see real animal cruelty. By Simon | June 8, 2012 4:38 PM Simon's is possibly the most rational comment on this subject. Dead is dead. Human animals even burn dead humans, or put them into the ground to be eaten by worms - how cruel is that? It's not cruel at all... because it's dead. I don't like 'copter-cat, much in the same way I didn't like Damien Hurst's dead cow. But there is zero cruelty involved as you can't make a dead thing suffer, so please don't use that as an excuse for hating this 'art'work. By osita | June 8, 2012 7:14 PM
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Just my opinion, but this is sick. I know there's the usual argument re: 'What is Art' but as a civilized people, I find this hard to accept.
By DH | June 6, 2012 9:57 AM