Analysis Of Cat Washing By John Olt

Art has withstood the test of time, and been around for as long as we can imagine. Art is everywhere. Art is a diverse medium for everyone to express themselves, it could be nothing, it could be anything, but to the eye of the beholder, it is everything. Every piece of art has meaning, and that meaning is different for every observer and open for interpretation. That is what makes art beautiful, not by the appearance but by the message and purpose of the creation. With the opportunity to search for two amazing pieces of art, I will be providing my own take and analysis on the pieces I find. The first piece, “Cat Washing” by John Olt depicts the daily routine of a typical housecat, and what really brought my attention to this piece was the simplicity
The sculpted cat was measured to be about 12x18x14 inches in width, length and height, respectively. John Olt’s “Cat Washing” was gifted to his wife, Martha Olt, who would later on donate the piece to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Similar to this piece, “Reaching Jaguar” by Anna Huntington shows a similar concept. The sculpture is of a stealthy jaguar leaning over a rock, preparing to pounce and hunt for his unseen prey, which is a known daily routine for jaguars because of their dominant status as predators. This modern sculpture, which is made out of the same alloy, Bronze, was modeled in the twentieth century. The “Stealthy Jaguar” was measured in at 48x44x22 inches, which makes it much larger than the sculpted cat. Huntington’s jaguar was gifted by Anna’s husband, Archer M. Huntington to be viewed in The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 700 in New York. Through close inspection of the two sculptures, “Cat Washing” and “Reaching Jaguar”, you can see that the two pieces are incredibly similar in their purpose even though they are clearly different in physical
Huntington’s motivation for the jaguar sculpture stemmed from her long study of Senor Lopez, a paraguayan jaguar that was the first feline at the Bronx Zoo. This jaguar sculpture is quite big in size, and stands out on its platform.This bronze sculpture can be described as a stealthy, intimidating jaguar eager to pounce from its rocky outlook. The intensity and ferocity on the face of the jaguar can not be ignored, as the jaguars demeanor plays a big role in the depiction of this piece of art. The ability to showcase the jaguar in its preparation for its hunt for food, is absolutely delightful. From looking at “Reaching Jaguar”, the underlying message put forth by the creator is what attracted me to this piece, and that message is finding meaning and value in the ordinary, routine activities. It can be from humans, animals, anything, there is always more than what meets the eye. Anna Huntington’s “Reaching Jaguar” is an amazing depiction of ordinary activity that we take for granted and don't appreciate as much as it should be, because of the simplicity in