PUMPkitty logo: black cat in a pumpkin hat PUMPkitty archive
A black cat in an orange pumpkin hood and zip-up jacket, staring out of a coloured-pencil autumn field
Lot PK-01 · the subject, unbothered

Catalogue entry · $PUMPKITTY

He did not ask for the hat.

One black cat, one pumpkin, zero reactions. Somebody put a gourd on his head, pointed a camera at him and waited for a face. The face never came. $PUMPKITTY is the coin of that stare.

Subject
Black cat, domestic
Prop
Pumpkin, hollowed, worn as a hat
Expression
None recorded
Backdrop
Grey wall, unremarkable
Eyes
Amber, open, judging
Usage
Unrestricted. Meme it.
§1

Photographer’s notes

Found taped to the back of the print. Transcribed as written.

  1. 14:02

    Placed the pumpkin. Waited for a reaction. Still waiting.

  2. 14:09

    Squeaked a toy off camera. Pupils did not move. Whiskers did not move. Nothing moved.

  3. 14:21

    Assistant laughed. Subject turned and looked at the assistant. Assistant went home.

  4. 14:40

    Shot the whole roll. Every frame is the same frame. Kept all of them.

  5. 15:15

    Took the pumpkin off. He kept staring at the spot where it had been. Put it back on. Felt like the right call.

§2

Contact sheet, roll 01

Grease pencil marks the pick. The rest are not worse. They are identical in spirit.

The subject in its pumpkin hood, framed

PUMPkitty

$PUMPKITTY · contents: one cat, one hat, zero explanation

A cat who wears the season without joining it. Hold it the way he holds the hat: still, unimpressed, and for longer than anyone expected. The cat is calm. The hat is not negotiable.