Solfeggio Tones and Vibrations of the Catoliths

Musica universalis (literally universal music), also called Music of the spheres or Harmony of the Spheres, is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica (the Medieval Latin term for music). This “music” is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic, mathematical or religious concept.

The idea continued to appeal to thinkers about music until the end of the Renaissance, influencing scholars of many kinds, including humanists. Further scientific exploration has determined specific proportions in some orbital motion, described as orbital resonance. – Ref: Wikipedia

Lyran Cat Lord in Sailor Suit with Feline Cranial Extension.

Sit, Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold:
There’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’st
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins;
Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.

Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice

Cat Temple for Burning Man 2022

Cathenge Cat Temple installation for Burning Man 2022 to be located at 3:30 and Esplanade in collaboration with Dustfish Theme Camp

Very, very pleased to announce that Cathenge will return to Black Rock City in 2022! We are producing a more compact version of the 2019 Cat Temple with the new and improved “2.0 Catoliths” that have been developed for the forthcoming Patricia’s Green public art installation in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. As per the illustration above, the Cats will stand on a triangular platform with a fire brazier in the center.

Cat Temple services will be conducted from 2AM to 6AM from Monday – Monday of the Burning Man Festival. In the wee hours of the morning, night cats will gather around the Burning Brazier of Holofelinity, warm themselves, drink kava, receive the Blessings of the Cat Priestesses, and learn secrets of the lost extraterrestrial cat civilization of Ancient Catlantis.

Don’t miss it!!!!!

Kindly support the Cat Temple for Burning Man 2022! You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Cathenge GoFundMe Campaign here:
https://gofund.me/d5deea84

Link for Cathenge Fundraiser

This year Cathenge will focus on developing and expanding the Cat Priestesshood of Pussiopolis:

  • Cat Priestess Training and Rituals
  • Kava Service (2 AM to 6 AM whenever possible . . . )
  • Exploration of the Principles of Holofelinity
  • Cat Chakra Meditation
  • Feline History Lectures
  • Brazier of Holofelinity

If you are interested in being a Cat Priestess or otherwise helping the Cathenge Cat Temple of Pussiopolis at Burning Man 2022 contact:

Contact page for Cathenge.net – leave a message please.

Catolith Manifestation at the Fluffy Cloud Experience! Saturday July 23rd 2022!

Catolith Manifestation at the Fluffy Cloud Experience! Saturday July 23rd 2022!

Two new and improved Catoliths will appear tonight at the Fluffy Cloud Experience. Fluffy Cloud is an immersive light and sound installation first debuted at Burning Man in 2019. The event will be held at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond.

This Catolith appearance is a fundraiser for Cathenge for Burning Man 2022:

https://gofund.me/d5deea84

Drawing of Cathenge installation for Burning Man 2022. Catoliths will appear prominently on the Esplanade@3:33

Donations to Cathenge are tax deductible through the Institute of Crazyology, a 501(c)3 non profit arts organization.

New and Improved Catolith 2.0 with full moon and laser Cat Chakras!

Kittolith 2.0

In February we completed the “New Prototype Kittolith” and debuted it at the Space Cat Cavalcade. This 5′ tall Catolith was printed by Re3D in Houston, Texas. The sound and lights were created by Theremin Barney, Artur Pyrogovskyi, and Aaron Winette. In this video I am demonstrating the motion detection based sound/light interactivity that Barney engineered using passive infrared sensors. The cat itself is a speaker. A kind of transductive speaker is affixed to the perimeter wall of the cat statue and the entire plastic cat vibrates to produce the sound. The sounds are solfeggio tones that Artur programmed in a randomized cycle to be triggered by the voltage signal transmitted from Barney’s motion detection circuit. This is still a work in progress, but we are developing this system to be used in the ring of six Catoliths that will be installed at Patricia’s Green.

Blue Sparkle Kitten Print

Today I printed out a small version of “Thanata” the Catolith of Death in sparkly blue-green irridescent PLA plastic. This is the first version of the Catolith that I’ve modeled with decorative surface embellishment. I modeled this in the subdivision surface modeler “Sculpt” of Cimema 4D 3D software. My intention is to use these surface details as the basis for painted decoration of the big Catoliths. This small print is a useful experiment in painting technique that can be applied on a much larger scale.

Printing Test with Modified CR-10 S5

“Dipping your toe in the water”.  The saying is something like that, right?  Well, in this case it is a plastic cat toe.

I’ve been running test prints of just the toe of the cat.  First on the smaller Ender 3 printer with smaller size nozzle and now on the larger CR-10 S5 printer with correspondingly larger gauge of nozzle.  I’ve modified this printer with a direct drive extruder and an improved bed heater.  This is the first print I’ve done with the large printer.  I am testing all of the parameters and specifications in preparation for replicating this with another 6 printers.  There will be a total of seven printers dedicated to producing cathenge.  I reckon one will be devoted to each section of the six height segments of the Catolith and the seventh for printing the divider components.

3D Printer Setup for Cathenge Production

Creality CR-10 S5 large format 3D printer being modified for Cathenge production.

I’m setting up a print farm of 7 of these CR-10 S5 printers. This is the first one which I am testing modifications on. This printer has a 500*500*500 mm build space, however the stock print bed only heats a 300*300 area, so I have upgraded this with a 500*500 heat mat. I also added the crossbraces since I anticipate that as the print grows tall and the load heavy that the z-axis will need all the reinforcement it can get.

Next up: I will replace the bowden style extruder with a direct drive extruder for greater printing efficiency and capability.

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3D Printing Catoliths 2022

These feet of a “Mini-Kittolith” are one of the very first things I printed since resolving to undertake on my own the printing of Cathenge for Patricia’s Green myself. 

I’ve opted to print Cathenge myself. It’s a big undertaking – typically people print something the size of an action figure, but it’s possible to do much larger things, and so I’m printing all 6 Catoliths. Doing the printing myself gives me the latitude to experiment with the design and the technique and that is essentially what artistic control is about.

I was able to source high quality yet inexpensive large format 3D printers (Creality CR-10 S5) which give me a 500*500*500 mm build space to work with. I am setting up seven of these printers at my studio in Stinson Beach. Using all seven printers at once I estimate I can produce one cat in 3 days. I’ll begin production of Catoliths by the second week of April and hazard to guess I’ll finish all six Catoliths within a month.

Of course, I get to keep the printers which opens up a whole new world of artistic possibilities for me. Building on my long experience in 3D modeling, I envision new “Crazyological” sculptures 3D printed and embellished with paint, lighting effects, interactivity and/or kinetics. It’s quite exciting!

Cathenge at Patricia’s Green, Hayes Valley, San Francisco (Completed Project – Now Exhibiting)

Cathenge is now completed and on display at Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. The culmination of over a year’s continuous work by artist David Normal, and intensive collaboration and coordination with a talented team of builders and technicians has brought Cathenge to life. Below are some photos of the newly erected installation.

Below is an 3D visualization of the Cathenge Installation for Patricia’s Green. ADA (American Disabilities Act) regulations required that the tips of the star shaped pedestal upon which the cats are standing be truncated. Not only did this provide a more equitable and accessible experience, but it also improved the design.

Below are some of the plans and drawings used in proposing and designing Cathenge. Basically, these are the design strategies in place that have been refined by RBHU Engineering (Structural Engineers).