Jennifer West

Every midnight in August 2021, a clowder of glowing felines took over Times Square. Artist Jennifer West’s Painted Cat Hacker Film transforms the “low art” of cat videos into a mesmerizing and monumental public artwork for the big screens.To create the spectral and lo-fi effects in Painted Cat Hacker Film, West first compiled 16mm clips of cats against a green screen. Manipulating the celluloid in her signature style, West applied brightly colored dye to the filmstrip before transferring it to high-definition video. The resulting piece is a multi-channel work of handmade digitized GIFs that pay homage to the feline’s role across many moving image genres — from the viral video, to experimental film, and the screens of Times Square themselves.Painted Cat Hacker Film is also a playful nod to the ongoing phenomenon of the public’s fascination with cats on the Internet. The subject of both serious writing and light-hearted inquiry, research has suggested that viewing online cat media is linked to positive emotions, and that it may even work as a form of digital therapy or stress relief. As filmmaker Werner Herzog has said, “When you are really down, you better switch on your laptop or smartphone and watch 60 seconds of crazy cat videos. It just lifts your spirits. Nothing wrong about it.”Cats on Video, Cats on FilmAugust 1–31, 2021 | OnlineSelected by Jennifer WestIn August of 2021, in conjunction with her Midnight Moment exhibition, West presented a curated selection of artists’ videos and experimental films featuring cats. Although the exhibition has ended, you can see a list of the selected pieces below.Says West: "In this program I pay homage to the rich history of the feline as muse in experimental and avant-garde film, video art, and their recent explosion on the Internet in funny cat videos, memes, and gifs."Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, Carolee Schneemann, Joyce Wieland, Chris Marker, Mark Leckey, Cory Arcangel, Sarah Zucker, Francios Vogel, Casey KauffmannPeter Fischli and David WeissBüsi (Kitty), 2001Video, color, silent, 6 minutes 30 secondsCourtesy of the artistMaya Deren and Alexander HammidThe Private Life of a Cat, 1944Digital video (transferred from 16mm black and white film) silent, 22 minutesPrivate Life of a Cat, © Tavia Ito, courtesy of Re:VoirJoyce WielandCatfood, 196816mm, color, sound, 13 minutesCourtesy the New American Cinema GroupChris MarkerChat écoutant la musique (Cat Listening to Music) , 1990Color video, sound, 2 min 54 secondsCourtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New YorkCarolee SchneemannInfinity Kisses - the Movie, 2008HD video, sound, 9 minutes, 8 secondsCourtesy the Schneemann Foundation and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New YorkMark LeckeyFelix TailDigital videoCourtesy of the artistCory ArcangelDrei Klavierstücke op. 11, 2009Youtube video with sound, 4 minutes 20 secondsCourtesy of the artistSarah ZuckerSpace Loaf, 2018Looping .mp4Courtesy of the artistFrançois VogelChat sur fond vert, 2020Digital video, 25 secondsCourtesy of the artistCasey Kauffmann#sometimesirun#sometimesihide, 2021Digital collage GIF, 1152 x 648 pixelsCourtesy of the artistPainted Cat Hacker Film CreditsCat played by Munchkin16mm cinematography by Peter WestShot on Arriflex 16X/B 16mm camera on Kodak 7207 film16mm film processed by FotoKem Motion Picture Lab, Burbank, CAFrame by frame painting and dying by JWest16mm negative transferred to 2K by Dino EverettBackground keying by Kelsey BoncatoEdited by JWestJennifer West (b.1966, Topanga, CA) is a Los Angeles-based artist who has explored materialism in film for over ten years. Significant commissions include works for Seattle Art Museum (2016-2017); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2016); The High Line, New York, NY (2012); MIT List Visual Arts Center (2011); Aspen Art Museum (2010); and Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, London (2009). West has had solo exhibitions at JOAN Los Angeles (2020); Contemporary Art Museum St Louis (2018); Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China (2017); Seattle Art Museum (2016-2017); Museo d’Arte Nuoro, Sardinia (2017); Tramway, Glasgow (2016); S1 Artspace, Sheffield, UK (2012); Kunstverein Nürnberg, Germany (2010); Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, (2010); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (2008); White Columns, New York, NY (2007). Her work has been included in group exhibitions at The Whitney Museum, New York, NY; Drawing Center, New York, NY; Pompidou Centre, Paris; Barbican, London; Kusthalle Schirn, Frankfurt; Centre for Contemporary Visual Arts, Bordeaux; and ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany, among others. West received an MFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and a BA from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She has lectured widely on her ideas of the “Analogital” and is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Fine Arts at USC’s Roski School of Art and Design in California. Her writing has appeared in publications including Artforum, Frieze and Mousse Magazine. West has produced fifteen zine artist books which were recently acquired by the Getty Museum.Images: Jennifer West. Painted Cat Hacker Film (2021) video still. Courtesy of the artist.