Büsi (Kitty)

2001

video installation | single-channel video with sound, 6:30 min.

Not currently on view in the museum

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One of the most enduring and endearing aspects of the work of Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss is how it exhibits their fondness for everyday things.

The video Büsi (Kitty) features a close-up of a cat lapping milk in a domestic environment. It was originally exhibited on an oversized video screen in New York's Times Square as part of a public art program, The 59th Minute: Video Art on the Times Square Astrovision. Given that this public space is usually reserved for slick commercials and news programming, it was an incongruous setting for a video of a cat deciding to pause for something to drink.

While the lush, high-definition quality of the Büsi video suggests a commercial for a pet product, the lack of a soundtrack, deliberate overexposure, and slapdash framing give the work the look of an amateur video of a family pet. By simply changing the frame of reference, by restaging the commonplace within the landscape of art and/or commerce, Fischli and Weiss make the ordinary seem extraordinary.

Dimensions variable

Acquired 2001

Collection SFMOMA

Accessions Committee Fund: gift of Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein, the Modern Art Council, Mimi and Peter Haas, Elaine McKeon, and Judy and John Webb

2001.300

Keywords

animals, pets, cats, eating, drinking, repetition

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