I’ve been working on what to do with the interviews I have made with volunteers at Powis Castle about the Roman Cat. We are going to Powis Castle tomorrow to present our ideas to the staff so I decided to mock up a ‘sample’ of the sort of piece I’d like to make. This has taken quite a lot of sweat and tears, especially working with Adobe video editing software, but I’ve just about managed to create something. This is very rough and ready but the final piece will hopefully follow a similar structure.

The  video.

Cat In Loo
I’m hoping that my less-than-wild not-so-Roman cat won’t mind staring in some way in the video

I would like now to ask visitors to Powis Castle questions about their views about the cat. Questions such as:

  • Do you like it?
  • Do you dislike it?
  • Why do you like it or dislike it?
  • Does it look real?
  • Is it a good representation of a cat?
  • Should it be judged against what we know about cats (mostly domestic) in the 21st century?
  • Does it look tactile?
  • How do you think it would feel to touch it?
  • Is it genuinely Roman?
  • Does its authenticity matter or change its value to you?
  • Does your opinion about it depend on whether it is genuine?
  • Does your opinion about it depend on its perceived monetary value?
  • Does your opinion about it depend on its aesthetic value?
  • Does your opinion about it depend on what you know about its history?
  • Does its value relate to the object’s history since it was obtained?
  • Would you want it in your house?
  • Do you feel comfortable expressing dislike for it?
  • Conversely if most people seem to dislike it, do you feel comfortable expressing liking for it?
  • Does having a negative opinion about it reflect directly or indirectly, or at all, on the personality of the person who treasured it?
  • Do you feel you should like it because it is an historic artifact in a National Trust house, obtained and treasured by a member of the aristocracy?
  • Do you think it fits in with the other objects of the Powis collection?
Does that cat's tail look like a cat's tail?
Does that cat’s tail look like a cat’s tail?