Friday, May 8, 2009

ABBA vs. Chiasmus: But more importantly, "Why Cats Paint"


I had every intention of writing a post about an issue that has surely been on all of our minds: the relation of ABBA to A-B-B-A structural style. That's right - finally someone with the courage to go there!

'It's about time' you say, and 'amen.'

Thing is, before I got around to doing that, something else came up. This something is very important!

Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics contains surprising and insightful commentary and criticism of feline painting techniques. You will be fascinated to learn that "Cats show a distinct preference for Van Gogh which is thought to be due to their being able to relate to the swirling fur-like nature of his brush strokes."

Bet you are also (until now) ignorant of the "localized low energy force fields" that stimulate the cats to paint!

Twelve artists are featured, including "Misty" whose paintings are valued "for their strong yet ambiguous imagery" and "incomprehensibility" which provokes rich and intriguing interpretation.

From Ruralists to Expressionists to artists who "choose" to paint while high on catnip, this decidedly high-brow (and yet still very accessible) art book covers the most important feline artists of our time.

Now, you are still wondering about ABBA. The name of the pop group is an acronym formed of the first names of its four members: (Agnetha, Benny, Björn, Anni-Frida). Anni-Frida was married to Benny,and Björn was married to Agnetha. ABBA. Not that the marriage has anything to do with the acronym. But CLEARLY they are demonstrating a preference towards chiasmus. (Oh, Stylistics class).

However, their song titles betray a deeply noncommittal structural element.

For example: "Knowing Me, Knowing You" - ABAB. "Mamma Mia" - AABA?

Just trust me. It is a major weakness in this band's otherwise highly respected career.

However, if you just take a minute to view the video for "Take a Chance on Me" you'll notice an interesting physical positioning of the four band members:


Surely ABBA!


6 comments:

  1. I hope you wrote about ABBA in stylistics.

    And the cat painting would have been a great science paper :)

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  2. i want to hear more about Misty's work. is any of it available to view online?

    read this to rowdy, he's thinking he could totally one-up Misty by going into sculpture. medium, toys and carpet scratchings.

    jack prefers baking. alli is a diva, just looking for a sugar daddy.

    cats are wonderful. wonderful are beth. ABBA.

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  3. this blog blew my mind and hurt my soul when i saw the abba structure mentioned. gahh~

    i like cat art but i like this better:

    Theme Song

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  4. I love Gimme Gimme Gimme! Great song.

    I tried to find examples of the artists' work online, but failed. The website: http://www.monpa.com/wcp/index.html has not posted the paintings.

    I really think you should encourage Rowdy to explore his medium and delve into his emotions.

    This book is hilarious... it makes me giggle in the weirdest way. I'll have to bring it in because I can't find the stuff online.

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  5. And after you've learned "Why Cats Paint," you can move on to reading "Why Paint Cats"

    http://www.whypaintcats.com/

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