Catbutterfly was recently featured in the hip quarterly Kewl Art! Many thanks to Ted for the riveting interview.
Kewl Art!: Tell your fans about your background, where you grew up, went to school, where you presently live.
Catbutterfly: I had a very troubled childhood that I don’t like to reminisce. School was always a trouble spot for me, as my peers picked on my unique ideas for clothing and versatile hairstyles. But just like I always imagined they would, things got better! Now I’m living in Vermont with four cats – Misty, Pickle, Phantacee, and Turmoil. I’m in a good place.
KA!: What is your artistic background?
CB: You know, “artistic background” isn’t a phrase I like to throw around. By conventional standards, no, I don’t have much of an “artistic background.” But ever since I was little my grandmother always said I had a keen eye. I would make all sorts of things when I was young – balls of yarn, hats made out of tin foil. Sometimes I’d even paint my nails polka dots.
KA!: What inspired Catbutterfly?
CB: I decided to move to Chicago a few years ago and try out “city living.” It was far, far too much for me, especially all of the loud motorcycles and the public transportation system. But while I was riding the bus one night, the #8 bus traveling south on Halsted Street, diagonally across from me sat a large Afro-American woman. On her upper arm she had a tattoo of a Catbutterfly (the original Catbutterfly) – the face of a cat on the body of a butterfly. It was indescribable the feeling I felt when seeing it.
KA!: What is your feeling on inspiration and art? How do you “birth” a catbutterfly?
CB: My inspiration comes from every area of life – food, family, love, politics, TV shows and food. Art has no definition, I always say. I respect all art forms, as well as all life forms. As far as giving birth to a catbutterfly, it’s a very organic process. I spend a lot of my time thinking about animals. I also spend a lot of time thinking about butterflies and studying the different species. I see an animal face and then think, “What body does this need? What would really make this fly?”
KA!: How do you interpret which animal goes with what butterfly, or do the images speak to you themselves?
CB: I just touched on this. Maybe you were not paying attention. But as I mentioned, I spend a lot of time thinking about animals and butterflies. I believe butterflies to be the most pure creature on the planet, and also the most taken for granted. They go through so much in their lives, starting out as a caterpillar and morphing into the butterfly. People don’t realize this magic is all around us. So every image speaks to me. Every butterfly is a gift. And I want to give that gift to other animals.
A butterus. A combination of a walrus and a butterfly.
KA!: I would have to imagine it is quite a stressful task making such heavy decisions.
CB: You would imagine correctly. A walrus, for example, will never take flight. A real walrus will only live in the ocean forever. So I had to make sure I chose an image of a walrus with a sense of sadness to his face. He wants to fly and he cannot! I gave him his wings.
KA!: Would you call yourself a revolutionary?
KA!: Would you care to expand on that?
KA!: What are you hoping to accomplish with Catbutterfly?
CB: I just want people to imagine again. Open their minds. Play with art and images and put a smile on their face.
KA!: With the rapidly growing popularity of Catbutterfly, do you have hopes to spark an artistic movement, something that could possibly rival Modernism?
CB: I think that we are all part of an art movement called the Human Race. Everything we do can be a movement. Every time we swallow a cookie or let out a toot, we’re contributing to the social art commentary. In other words, yes.
The creator of Catbutterfly relates to the little red hen.
KA!: What do you say to all of the skeptics out there who think that your pieces are downright ridiculous and not worth of all of the laud that you have been receiving?
CB: I think they need to GTFO and STFU (get the fuck out and shut the fuck up). Excuse my language, but it’s a free country. Remember the story of The Little Red Hen? No one would help her make the bread but when it was baked, everyone wanted a piece. That’s how I feel.
KA!: Are there any animals that you feel are taboo to place on the body of a butterfly? For example, the Hindu culture views cattle as sacred. Would you ever think of creating a buttercow? Or would you simply not show that piece if your work were to be showing in an area where your work may offend?
CB: I’m from the school of thought, “You break it, you bought it.” I feel that if you do not like my art, no one is forcing you to look at it.
KA!: Many say your work may become as influential as your contemporary Thomas Kinkade. How do feel about this statement?
CB: I am quite complimented by this statement as I think Thomas Kinkade is a national treasure. I feel proud to be from a country that can produce an artist of such recognition, such vision, and such exploitative financial fortune.
Thomas Kinkade's "NASCAR Thunder"
KA!: What do you think of Mr. Kinkade?
CB: I adore him. He is the Painter of Light. I consider myself the Digital Artist of Wonder.
Anne Geddes "Pumpkins #4"
KA!: How do you cope with the pressure of having many critics saying that you are merely playing off the genius that is Anne Geddes? That she uses babies and animals you are using butterfly and animals?
CB: I don't cope with it because I say that that’s BS (bullshit). Excuse my language. Yes, Anne Geddes has dressed babies up as different animals and perishable food items but as I’ve reiterated since the inception of Catbutterfly, this is heads of animals that aren’t butterflies on butterfly bodies.
KA!: Where do you envision Catbutterfly going, or “flying” to, in 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years?
CB: Luckily since I spend so much time thinking about animals, I have a lot of ideas. I want to expand my posts into different categories (suggestions always welcome at [email protected]). The “Which Catbutterfly Are You?” quiz was an astronomical success. I would like to feature more fan art…but I need to receive it in order to feature it! In one year from now, it would be nifty if I had enough advertising on the site to call it quits at my dayjob. Hopefully 10 years from now, Catbutterfly will be a household name.
KA!: What would you like to say to all of your fans?
CB: I would like to say thank you for believing in me and my art. Spread the word about Catbutterfly and send ideas of what you’d like to see on the site. And last but certainly not least, shed your cocoon and fly! You can have wings if you want them enough. Or if you can't, you can tattoo a butterfly on your body with the face of an animal that is not a butterfly on it.
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