Critique #2

“Guilty” Tracey C. of TC Artworks, oil on canvas

Whether or not an action is a crime is up to the moral standards and point of view of an individual. If the point of view is the culprit then they will most likely believe that their action was okay, while the view from an opposing lawyer will be that the action is illegal and immoral. Many culprits do not actually know or believe that what they did is socially, morally, or personally incorrect. They usually represent this lack of knowledge when they are accused of this action, they could act like they don’t know what is being accused of them or truly not know. In the painting “Guilty” Tracey C. uses the emptiness of the background and cat’s stare, along with the subtle but obvious crime of the eaten bird to represent the universal belief that some actions have no value of wrongdoing to an individual.

The background of “Guilty” leaves the mind to wonder what it means; it could mean that perhaps the cat had no recognition of its wrongdoing. The straight blackness of the background symbolizes the empty thoughts, or the lack of knowledge of the crime. The background also could represent that the cat believes that there was nothing wrong with eating the bird, and the background is just that; nothing. There is no meaning to the background, which shows that the eating of the bird has no effect on the cat, and it does not care or know that what it did was wrong. Along with the black emptiness of the background, its eyes share meanings into the cat’s guilt.

Both of the cat’s eyes symbolize the wrongdoing of the cat. The almost innocent glare of the cat proves that it really doesn’t know what is wrong, and it is a moment like any other, not special. The cat does not acknowledge that he was not supposed to eat the bird. There is a shadow that covers one of the eyes to represent that the cat is on the dark side and guilty, while the eye not shadowed is representing the seemingly innocent qualities of the cat.  The dilation of the eye could also be the way of showing that the cat knows of its guilt. Eyes can have a lot to do with showing guilt of a crime.

Tracey C. uses the bright color of the feathers to make it the crime committed obvious, but the placement makes the meaning subtle to the viewers. The way there is a lingering feather shows that there is that lingering thought of being guilty even though the cat sees himself as innocent. Although society portrays cats to have birds as prey, viewers do not automatically see the feathers as a bird that was eaten. The way the feathers are a focal point within a focal point show that Tracey C. wanted us to see what the cat had done. The white spot of the cat is the focal point as it contrasts against the black fur and the black background, and the yellow feathers stick out on the white fur and the black background.

The many qualities of the painting represent the innocence and guilt of the cat. The background represents the way the cat seems to view its action. The eyes are a segway to determining its innocence to society. The obvious difference between the eyes shows the difference in outsider’s opinions and the cat’s own opinion of its action. The feathers of the bird indicate what the crime is, but is not an obvious meaning. Guilty by Tracey C. leaves the viewer to wonder what the cat believes it did.