reprage

One of the things I love about art is how an interpretation can be both valid and wrong until it’s told to someone else.

It’s like that interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, where an object simultaneously exists in all possible configurations: it’s only when the object is externally observed that the possibilities collapse, and the object is forced into the form you see. It’s a mind-bending theory that seems to work at the subatomic level with things like electrons, but it’s contentious.

Erwin Schrödinger came up with the famous thought experiment that argued, “You’re trying to tell me that the cat in this box is both alive and dead? At the same time? Like a zombie? Until someone looks inside? As if.”

That’s why art is cool. That’s why the cat carrier Tom made from the movie ‘Alien’ is cool. Because it’s the only place where a mind-bending interpretation of quantum mechanics works on a cat. As I’m typing this interpretation, it’s both valid and wrong. Until it’s read by you – that’s when the interesting stuff happens. Maybe my interpretation aligns perfectly with your worldview. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it alters your perspective of Tom’s cat carrier. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you jump into the comments and start to nudge my world view.

That’s the fun part. The interaction we’ve just had? That’s all the possibilities collapsing, it’s either killed a cat or nurtured it.

A picture of the control panel on the alien cat carrier made by Tom Sachs.
A picture of the vents on the alien cat carrier made by Tom Sachs.
A picture of the handle on the alien cat carrier made by Tom Sachs.
A picture of the door on the alien cat carrier made by Tom Sachs.

Photos: Arthur Carpentier

Originally written for the Sachsian Syndicate.

Previously: TGIM 3 - Let your freak flag fly. (A short exploration of Victory Boogie Woogie)

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