NARRATOR:  

The images in this mural-sized work by Carolee Schneeman may seem similar to each other. What they actually represent, however, is a similar incident that took place on many different days. Robert Riley, former Media Arts Curator at the Museum.  

RILEY:  

Infinity Kisses has as its content a photograph of a moment each day that the artist wanted to document, of her cat waking her up in the morning with a kiss. 

NARRATOR:  

Like a private detective engaged in surveillance, documenting some kind of romantic meeting, Schneeman used a camera to record the moment her cat woke her each day for five years. She’s combined a selection of these images together, photocopying them onto linen. Schneeman ran the images through three times, and the dense saturated inks of the copying process have transformed the originals. 

The serial repetition of the cat’s kiss, as well as the arched shape of the whole composition, suggest that this event has a symbolic meaning. According to Egyptian mythology, the kiss bestowed by a lion on a goddess will restore peace to the world. Look at the top right. This picture is of an ancient Egyptian relief. Schneeman found this relief in a museum when she was halfway through her project of recording her own cat’s daily greeting.