Intllatiton view, 2017, Ruth Youth Wing, Israel Meseum, Jerusalem

Cats + Dogs
WELCOME TO AN EXHIBITION DEDICATED ENTIRELY TO THE WORLD’S MOST BELOVED PETS!
The dispute between cat-lovers and dog-lovers is never-ending — and one’s preference tells us quite a bit about them. This exhibition explores the deep connection between dogs and humans and our particular view of cats through ancient artifacts, contemporary artworks, sculptures, videos, paintings, and photographs. Though presented by the artists with affection and amusement, the images also offer a mysterious, critical, and even ominous perspective on these animals.
Although all the images of animals on display were created by human hands, on this floor dogs and cats appear on their own — at times in the wild and at times with clear traces of our human world. Whether you have a dog, a cat, or neither; whether you prefer one, the other, or none — you are invited to examine these familiar animals in a new and at times surprising light.
CAT OR DOG?
Cats and dogs are the stars of this exhibition, which features over 100 artworks devoted to mankind’s most beloved pets. These works invite the viewer to see these familiar animals in a light that is affectionate and bemused, while also mysterious, critical, and even ominous.
Who is truly “man’s best friend”? Perhaps this question can never really be answered and, as the exhibition shows, the choice between cats and dogs
says more about us than about them. The photographs and drawings of cats and dogs on display call to mind the human hand behind these images and representations of these animals - together and apart - in art and in culture.
If you prefer dogs, begin in the dog area; if you are a cat person, follow the tails and the mews. Either way, you will end up in the section for people who love both or neither; there cats, dogs, and people all come together
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