Years before cat videos became one of the pillars of the Internet's subculture, artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss came up with a film called Büsi (Kitty), which featured a cat nonchalantly lapping milk for about three minutes, not caring about the camera pointing at its face. In more ways that one, Büsi was the "original cat video," and now, it is currently being featured in Times Square every night, according to Artnet News.
Büsi was actually a part of the artists duo's epic film, a 96-hour video installation titled, "Untitled (Venice Work)," which was shown at the 1995 Venice Biennale. Eventually, the excerpt featuring the film's black and white milk-drinking cat was commissioned by Creative Time in 2001 for its project, The 59th Minute, which coincidentally was also shown in the Astrovision screen in Times Square.
What makes Büsi quite unique is the fact that in contrast with modern cat videos, this particular candid clip featuring a cat drinking milk without a care in the world was actually intended by Fischli and Weiss to be a serious piece of art.
"Büsi was not made as a discussion about kitsch. There was just something super-nice about this cat that we were attracted to. To do something that's more spectacular than what's going on in Times Square would be impossible. We wanted to do something very simple and quiet: it was a logical step for us," Fischli said, according to The Smithsonian Magazine.
The artsy cat video would be played every night during the whole month of February, starting at 11:57 p.m. and ending at 12 midnight, as part of the Times Square Arts Midnight Moment program.
Watch Büsi here:
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