The weirdness of Medieval illustration is never far from our minds, from questions about how much page space is dedicated to combat with snails to fond remembrance of Two Monks Inventing Things. It’s nice to know we aren’t alone in being totally obsessed with the oddly proportioned creatures that haunt illuminated manuscripts and sit uncomfortably in Medieval paintings, begging us with their all-too-human eyes to end their suffering. Laura Venditti, a stop-motion animator based in Montreal, is the latest to draw from this strange menagerie, and we are screaming.
“It started when I was looking for inspiration for my next animation project,” Venditti told Hyperallergic. “I thought ‘let’s do something involving a cat!’ — and immediately the Medieval cat paintings came to mind.”
Venditti’s delightful needle-felted creations are inspired by an array of cat depictions, Medieval and beyond — as she prioritizes the fun of this project rather than strict art historical accuracy. The artist learned to animate at Concordia University in Montreal and has been working with stop-motion and as a professional animator since 2010.
“I had a big (slightly embarrassing in hindsight) Medieval phase in my early teens, so it was bound to show in my art at some point!” Venditti confessed. Girl, didn’t we all? What happens at Ren Faire stays at Ren Faire, and I just hope mead vendor Gawain Huddleston remembers that and has kept my confidence lo these many years.
“I would say that my absolute favorite part is getting a strong reaction from people,” Venditti said. “Making people laugh with my silly little puppets is such a great feeling! But more specifically to stop-motion, it’s the variety of materials you can use, the textures, the fact that the characters exist in the real world.”
Objective, achieved! We are in absolute hysterics over Venditti’s trio of weird cats, including one I’m calling Smug Blue for obvious reasons, another I’ve dubbed Creeping Charlie for walking on its back legs with human hands held out like it’s about to break into the dance sequence from the Thriller video, and perhaps most of all, Existential Dread Kitten. The plan is to make an animated short film with them, but currently, it’s just the three cats and a few other small creatures around them. Heartened by the overwhelming response of Medieval cat lovers of Instagram, Venditti hopes to give the people what they want.
(image via Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal)
“It was super challenging to capture the essence of something badly represented, but in a good way, if that makes sense,” said Venditti. “But they ended up conveying so much charisma that I might want to try making more of them. I love the weird amalgamation of human faces, creatures, and sometimes even plants. It allows for such creative freedom.”
Take all the time you need, Venditti, and we will be waiting right here for them to appear. It is all that I live for, beyond my memories of sweet Gawain and the many bestowing of favours in the copse behind the smithy.
