Orville is a cat who was converted into a radio-controlled quadcopter and renamed Orvillecopter. After Orville was killed in a car accident, his owner, Bart Jansen,[1] collaborated with Arjen Beltman to create the "half cat, half machine." Orvillecopter based on Lotus T580, had his first test flight on March 9 2012.[2]Orville was named for the aviator Orville Wright.[3] Jansen has said he did this to pay tribute to his pet.[4]
The Orvillecopter was exhibited at the KunstRAI art festival at Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam in early June 2012.[5]
Reactions
Paddy Johnson commented that deceased pets have been used in art before, calling it "sort of a European flavor of art making."[6] Katinka Simonse, a Dutch artist known as TINKEBELL, killed her cat Pinkeltje and made it into a purse.[6]Graffiti reading "Kill the animal killers" and "Shame" was written on the RAI convention center.[7] The Dutch Party for the Animals condemned Orvillecopter and will send letters of complaint to KunstRAI organizers and RAI.[7][8] Organizer Liesbeth Hemelrijk defended Jansen to the Los Angeles Times, "Even though artist Bart Jansen loved his cat when it was still alive and cared so much for it that he turned it into art after it was run over by a car, people declare him the worst person in the country."[7]
The American People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called Orvillecopter "a macabre way to honor a beloved family member."[6]
Due to the international attention, Orvillecopter's asking price has been raised from £8,000 (€12,500) to €100,000.[9][10]
References
- ^ "Overreden kat omgetoverd tot vliegende helikopter - OPMERKELIJK - PAROOL". Het Parool. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
- ^ Orvillecopter first flight march 9 2012.MOV - YouTube
- ^ Suzannah Hills (2012-05-06). "Cats away! Artist turns his dead pet into flying helicopter after it is killed by a car | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ "Bart Jansen's Helicopter Cat On Display At Kunstrai Art Festival In Amsterdam | Strange News | Sky News". News.sky.com. 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ "Dutch artist turns dead cat into remote-controlled helicopter, dubbed ‘Orvillecopter’". NY Daily News. 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ a b c Popkin, Helen A.S.. "Dead cat copter: Art or 'macabre' pet send off?". MSNBC. Retrieved June 05, 2012.
- ^ a b c Orvillecopter, the stuffed helicopter cat, sparks global outrage - latimes.com
- ^ Veel kritiek op maker helikopterkat tijdens KunstRAI - KUNST - PAROOL
- ^ A Dead Cat Flies. But Is It Art? - Forbes
- ^ Orvillecopter rises: value of cat-helicopter increase tenfold
Additional sources
"Dutch Artist Shocks with Dead Cat Helicopter". Der Spiegel Magazine. 6/5/2012. Retrieved June 05, 2012.Deletion Analysis:
This article was deleted on June 12, 2012 after the closing of a deletion discussion which began on June 4. Essentially, its just another entry in the ongoing Wikipedia Wars over when something of brief popularity should be covered by an Everlasting Encyclopedia. There's no question that all or most of the content in the article could be verified with reputable news sources. Is the quantum of human knowledge somehow demeaned if Wikipedia does not include an article on the Orvillecopter? Interestingly, the deletion discussion (aside from my ridiculous poem in it) was fairly rational, and seemed to recognize that silly things like Orville CAN become encyclopedic, as long as people keep mentioning it over time. For fun:
