Category: Work in Progress

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Cathenge DC -In Proposal to the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities – July 2025

Would you like to see Cathenge installed as public art in SW DC?

Support artist David Normal’s goal of installing Cathenge in “Linear Park” the park in the roundabout at the terminus of Maryland Av. SW in DC SW, Ward 6.   

Cathenge DC is in proposal to the DC Commission on Art and Humanities for consideration in the “Public Art Building Communities”  grant program that awards funds annually for new public art throughout Washington DC.  The grant deadline is July 22nd 2025.

 As a 3D printed sculptural installation, Cathenge represents the leading edge of ambition for the artistic application of large format additive printing.  The sculptures are a multi-media fusion:  3D  printing, LED lighting, lasers, sound, vibration and electronic interactive sensing are integral to the effect and provide visitors with a direct and palpable experience of the mystical Space Cat consciousness.

Visitors to Cathenge experience the majesty of the Catoliths through their interactive sound and lights.  People moving within the circle of cat statues are detected by LiDAR beams.  Soft harmonic purring tones and synchronized pulsing lights are generated which respond directly to the movement.  These interactive light and sound effects evoke the power of Holofelinity.

 

Cathenge DC Visualization

 

Proposed Site of Cathenge: “Linear Park”, Maryland Ave. SW, Washington DC

 

The Catolith.  Mystic cat statue of the Ancient Space Cat.

 

Cathenge at Patricia’s Green, Hayes Valley, San Francisco

Currently, “Cathenge DC” is being proposed to the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities for their “Public Art Building Communities” (PABC) grant which provides funding for public art installations that foster and strengthen community throughout Washington DC.

Background:

Cathenge was on display for 16 months, from October 2022 to March 2024, in downtown San Francisco.   Sponsored by the San Francisco Arts Commission, it was displayed at the prestigious Patricia’s Green sculpture site in the fashionable Hayes Valley district of SF near the Davies Symphony Hall. 

Cathenge began as a Burning Man Foundation funded “Honorarium Project” that  was presented at the annual Burning Man arts festival in the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada.

“Cathenge DC” will be a newly revised and improved version of the recent SF installation that features great improvements in the sound and light interactivity of the installation the SF Standard called “Insanely Popular”.

Press:

“Cathenge” Glowing 9-Foot Tall Cat Sculptures Come to SF

https://sfstandard.com/2022/11/17/cathenge-comes-to-sf

https://www.timeout.com/usa/news/a-massive-cathenge-is-being-unveiled-in-san-francisco-with-glowing-feline-monoliths-112522

About the Artist:

David Normal is a painter, animator, and installation maker based in the SF Bay Area.  Normal got his start making fliers for the hardcore punk scene in the Bay Area in the mid-80s.  Normal began contributing to the Burning Man Festival in the mid ‘90s. Normal’s accomplishments were recognized in a solo exhibition of lightbox-murals at the British Library in
London in 2015, “Crossroads of Curiosity”. In 2022 he created “Cathenge”, the Cat Temple, for the San Francisco Arts Commission. This public art installation was displayed at Patricia’s Green Park in Hayes Valley, San Francisco from October of 2022 through March of 2024.  Currently David Normal has newly established a studio in West Oakland for producing 3D printed installation art.

@postnormalism
@cathenge_cat_temple
https://davidnormal.net
http://cathenge.net
http://crossroadsofcuriosity.org

More info about Cathenge can be found on the website:

About Cathenge

Note:  This proposal was begun in 2023, but couldn’t be completed in time for the 2023 grant cycle, so I am finishing it now, and hope to turn in the grant by the deadline on July 22nd 2024.

For the seriously interested:

Here is a link to the proposal draft underway.  You can learn all about Cathenge DC by reading the answer to the DC CAH questions:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQRdIu3gWpKOtPPx0exW2Ae90d5NWgEmwjifdXFEkIjRX1wOIcRgYtXHhFwvdnMkXLf0X0A0RlL8Upc/pub

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Kittoliths grow up to be Catoliths

Refurbished Catoliths with new bases and “KISS” (Kittolith Interactive Sound System) adapted to the Catolith

It’s only natural that cats should have kittens, and plastic cat statues should therefore have their progeny too. The Coven of Catoliths gave birth to a Litter of Kittoliths.

After 5 years of design and production I feel that the Catolith is at last nearing its potential. The newly refurbished Catoliths that were just installed at KALW with their LiDAR based interactivity, battery operation, independent control via Raspberry Pi computer, and lighter more mobile wooden base actually exceed what I imagined for this artwork 5 years ago.

Below is a table showing the progression of techniques from one iteration of Cathenge to the next.

Component
New Catolith (2024)		Kittolith System (2023-24)Catolith System (Patricia’s Green 2022)
Catolith System (BMan 2019)
InteractivityLiDAR (“Time of Flight”), Raspberry PiLiDAR (“Time of Flight”), Raspberry PiPassive InfraredCapacitive Sensing by Theremin Barney
PurringSolfeggio Tone BasedSolfeggio Tone BasedPurr Data interactive composition by Jacob TonskiPurr Tones by No.e
3D PrintingPETG/CR-10 S-5
Self-Printed		PETG/CR-10 S-5
Self-Printed		PETG/CR-10 S-5
Self-Printed		PLA by Titanic Design
3D Modeling“Voxel Modeling” for 2-ply model with “shiplap” joints.“Voxel Modeling” for 2-ply model with “shiplap” joints.“Voxel Modeling” for 2-ply model with “shiplap” joints.No joining system!
BaseWooden BaseWooden BaseConcrete BaseConcrete Base
SoundTransductive Speakers/Inverted Sub Mounted in the BaseTransductive Speakers/Inverted Sub Mounted in the BaseTransductive Speakers/Bazooka SubCar Audio Stuff

The Vision of Cathenge

From the beginning, the vision of Cathenge and of the Catolith Cat Statue has been exceedingly difficult to realize because it combines lighting effects and interactivity in very specific ways and is dependent on the large format 3D printing to achieve. However, each installation of Cathenge succeeded in communicating this vision in different ways, but never completely to my satisfaction, and that’s why I have continued working on the project.

The goal has been to express the concept of “Holofelinity: Universal Cat Consciousness”. Holofelinity is the magical power of the Ancient Lyran Space Cats to manifest their minds over matter and to transform themselves into any shape. This is expressed in the artwork as “Harmonic Purring” (AKA; “Purrbration of Holofelinity”), an evocation of the capacity of the Space Cats to purr their visions into material form.

Ancient Lyran Space Cat materialized as Bastet idol levitating pyramid using chromatic spectra of the Purrbration of Holofelinity.

The Kittolith

In order to reach this goal, it was instrumental to create a smaller version of the Catolith, the “Kittolith”:

The Kittolith at Miami Art Week

Because the Kittolith presents as a single statue instead of a circle of statues (as in Cathenge) it has been necessary to condense the interactive harmonic purring system into one sculpture. This has been done using LiDAR. People interact with the LiDAR beam extending from the collar of the Kittolith and trigger different frequencies (“Solfeggio Tones”). The infographic below shows how the Kittolith works with the use of Solfeggio sound healing tones:

From Kittolith to Catolith

The “Kittolith Interactive Sound System” (KISS) was adapted for use in the Catolith. The photo gallery below documents our process of creating the New Catolith. Essential to this process was the design and construction of a new wooden base for the Catolith.

CAD drawing of wooden Catolith base

This new, lighter base not only facilitates a wider range of possibilities of exhibitions because of its much reduced weight (compared to the previous concrete bases), but also resolves acoustic issues since the wooden base acts as a ported speaker cabinet for the subwoofer installed in the base. Below is a gallery of photos of the new Catolith and its new base under construction:

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Green Light for Cathenge Installation at Patricia’s Green!!!

Last Wednesday, October 19th, the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks issued a one year permit for Cathenge to be installed and exhibited at Patricia’s Green Park (Octavia and Fell streets, Hayes Valley). This is the green light, the permission, Cathenge has been waiting for! By October 31st 2022 Cathenge will be all finished and ready to receive the public.

Needless to say, the whole Cathenge Crew of collaborators and I are very excited. We are in the home-stretch of production. Many final tasks and finishing touches are being completed. The “Holofelinity Sound-Light Sculpture” is being refined and perfected. The base is being decorated with laser cut space cat themed motifs and metallic gilding. The cats are being given their final clear-coat of iridescent hi-gloss finish. So many details being coordinated, a concerted collaborative effort of a dedicated team of artists and technicians, an elaborate and meticulous vision on a monumental scale is being realized.

It has also been a concerted effort of SF City Officials from different departments, as well as engineers, insurance agents and other professionals to work through and process all the regulations, civic and legal requirements to bring a sculpture like this to the public. It is easy to take public artworks for granted, but behind the scenes; the large amount of administrative work required to produce them cannot be underestimated.

Here are photos and videos documenting the latest efforts of Cathenge in progress.

Staging all six Catoliths in their correct position at David Normal’s studio in Stinson Beach, California
Final Concept Drawing of Cathenge for Patricia’s Green
“Holofelinity Light-Sound Sculpture” (Interactive Harmonic Purring)
Cathenge 3D printing studio
“Saucer Cat” laser cut Design for Cathenge side panels
Decorative laser cut facia speaker covers with “Saucer Cat” motif

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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).

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Cathenge Prototype in David Normal Studio Spring 2019

This 3D printed Catolith prototype “Kittolith”. Printed by Christopher Christensen. This prototype features motion activated interactive purring by Theremin Barney. Ultimately, we settled on touch sensitivity through “Capacitive Sensing” as the mechanism of interactivity for the large Catoliths at Cathenge, Black Rock City 2019.

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Catoliths and Interactive Solfeggio Sound Effects

The effect I’d like to achieve with the Catoliths is similar to a set of windchines. Motion detection creates the chiming of the Catoliths. Each cat has an infrared sensor mounted in its chin and facing downward. This creates a cone of interactivity wherein a visitor to Cathenge will hear the cats “intone” their respective notes. Additionally, triggering one cat will trigger notes in the other cats (ideally, this is a random or semi-random pattern).

Six Catoliths

Thanata = 396hz = DO = Tonic C = Saturn

Fortuna = 417hz = RE = D = Jupiter

Lyrata = 528hz = MI = E = Mars

Erotica = 639hz = FA = F = Earth

Lunata = 741 = SO = G = Venus

Solara = 852 = TI = A = Mercury

The above equivalencies connect each catolith to a specific solfeggio frequency. Above (396 – 852) is the solfeggio scale used in Gregorian chanting.

Gregorian Chant:

https://youtu.be/Ng9sSR7qBAE

 Because planets with larger eccentricities have a greater variation in speed they produce more “notes.” Earth’s maximum and minimum speeds, for example, are in a ratio of roughly 16 to 15, or that of a semitone, whereas Venus’ orbit is nearly circular, and therefore only produces a singular note. Mercury, which has the largest eccentricity, has the largest interval, a minor tenth, or a ratio of 12 to 5. This range, as well as the relative speeds between the planets, led Kepler to conclude that the Solar System was composed of two basses (Saturn and Jupiter), a tenor (Mars), two altos (Venus and Earth), and a soprano (Mercury), which had sung in “perfect concord,” at the beginning of time, and could potentially arrange themselves to do so again.

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



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“