Catnap in a funeral shop, outside Xian, China, 2004 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twelve: Using color to express ideas > Catnap in a funeral shop, outside Xian, China, 2004

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23-JUN-2004

Catnap in a funeral shop, outside Xian, China, 2004

A broken box provides a bed for this cat in a store making funeral accessories just outside Xian. Chinese funerals are built around cremations, and paper items of all kinds, including these colorful blossoms, go out in a blaze of glory along with the deceased. The bright colors contrast strongly to each other as well as to the neutral brownish colors of the cat and floor in this photograph. They seem to be awake while the cat slumbers.

Leica Digilux 2
1/125s f/4.0 at 15.4mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		28-Nov-2008 21:49
Your words evoke my vision, Roberto -- that is exactly what I saw as I made this image.

Guest		28-Nov-2008 19:36
This photo is wonderful. Everything on it. The cat sleeping, the broken box, colors. You really got it. Fantastic.

Phil Douglis		26-Sep-2007 23:09
Are you interpreting this image as a funeral for a cat? If so, it is heartbreaking. But if you see it as I saw it, a cat sleeping in a box, surrounded by funeral decorations, there should be less pain.

Phil Douglis		24-Mar-2007 21:55
Thanks, Celia, for noticing the bent ear, the glowing white centers of the flowers and the contrast of the hum drum cardboard with the decorative flowers. I must salute you for your similar image of a sleeping cat athttp://www.pbase.com/seetheeearth/image/76068144

Guest		24-Mar-2007 21:38
A wonderful portrait of feline snoozing combined with the explosive colors of the paper ornaments. I particularly like the diagonals, the cat's bent ear, the white centers in some of the flowers, and the lovely contrast of the muted animal /box/stone with the decorations. Thank you for directing me to this lovely picture, Phil!

Phil Douglis		10-Mar-2006 22:03
Your few words eloquently sum up this image for all of us, Ramma. Thank you.

Ramma		10-Mar-2006 18:28
Sleeping amidst the colourful preparations of a death ceremony, the cat awaits it's Kiss of life !!

Phil Douglis		23-Apr-2005 19:31
Yes, I see what you are seeing here, Ruth. The flowers can well be interpreted as a dream, because their colors are so unreal. I was stunned to discover this cat -- I was so taken by the flowers that I really did not notice the cat curled up in that box. As I noted in the caption, they are awake, while the cat sleeps. Glad you also found both Jen's and my comments regarding attitudes toward death to be meaningful.

ruthemily		23-Apr-2005 15:56
i see this image as though all that is visible to humans is the cat in the box on the ground. those flowers are in the cat's dreams. do you see what i mean? it's like a secret peep into the cat's unconscious. i am fascinated by your comment that we can't understand how a culture lives until we understand how they die. its great too, to get Jen's Chinese view on this photo and what the symbols here represent in Chinese culture.

Phil Douglis		26-Oct-2004 20:35
It is so rewarding for me to make an image expressing ideas about another culture, and then have someone from that culture respond as you have responded here, Jen. I did see the incongruity of this juxtaposition, of course, as I made this image. The idea of a live cat sleeping in a box surrounded by funereal symbols was in my mind from the beginning. Yet I am fascinated by your extension of my idea -- seeing it as way of dealing with the fear of death. And then you go on to find a symbolic romantic dream in that pink flower -- a flower representing a female accompanying the cat -- as a surrogate for a human being -- to the next world. I will never look at this image in the same way again, Jen. Thank you for bringing your Chinese point of view to this image. Phil

Jennifer Zhou		26-Oct-2004 06:37
This is in fact a quite pleasant picture to look at and that is very incongruous with the topic of DEATH. But what you intented to do here is to introduce people to understand the incongruous attitude of chinese people toward death. The cat is sleeping----another way to look at it: he can symbolize died people because---as you told me that it is a state closest to death, inconsciousness and nothingness. To have colorful things decorating his dream¡ªpeople¡¯s death, makes it easier for people who still alive to deal with the fear of death. Chinese people believe that after people died, they can enjoy all the fancy things that were burned with themselves. The dark pink flower around the cat makes me think about he is having a romantic dream, as some Chinese men died, their families may make paper female human to company them in another world. Jen

Phil Douglis		22-Jul-2004 00:01
I know your cat pictures well! You were among those I had in mind when I made this shot.

Wendy O		21-Jul-2004 23:52
This is priceless! I'm a sucker for cat pictures, and the story behind this picture makes it fascinating.

Phil Douglis		16-Jul-2004 19:04
Very observant point. Death is part of life. You can't really begin to understand how a culture lives until you appreciate how it regards and celebrates death.

Tim May		16-Jul-2004 18:22
One of the aspects that I love of your many journeys into the world is the fact of your study of how different cultures deal with death. This adds to your work.

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