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User:Andrew Davidson/Orvillecopter

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Orville
Other name(s)Orvillecopter
SpeciesFelis catus
SexMale
OwnerBart Jansen

Orville was a cat who was converted into a radio-controlled quadcopter called 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 9 March 2012.

Orville was named for the aviator Orville Wright.[2] Jansen has said he did this to pay tribute to his pet.[3]

The Orvillecopter was exhibited at the KunstRAI art festival at Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam in early June 2012.[4]

Reactions

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Paddy Johnson commented that deceased pets have been used in art before, calling it "sort of a European flavor of art making."[5] Katinka Simonse, a Dutch artist known as TINKEBELL, killed her cat Pinkeltje and made it into a purse.[5]

Graffiti reading "Kill the animal killers" and "Shame" was written on the RAI convention center.[6] The Dutch Party for the Animals condemned Orvillecopter and will send letters of complaint to KunstRAI organizers and RAI.[6][7] 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."[6]

The American People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called Orvillecopter "a macabre way to honor a beloved family member."[5]

Due to the international attention, Orvillecopter's asking price has been raised from £8,000 (€12,500) to €100,000.[8][9]

At the end of 2012, Reuters selected an image of Orvillecopter as one of its best images of 2012,[10] and that and other images of Orvillecopter were included in other annual roundups.[11][12][13] Silicon Republic selected Orvillecopter as one of "The most unusual tech stories of 2012."[14] Rude Tube placed a video about the Orvillecopter at number 27 in its video chart Welcome to 2013 which was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 11 January 2013.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Overreden kat omgetoverd tot vliegende helikopter". Het Parool. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  2. ^ Suzannah Hills (6 May 2012). "Cats away! Artist turns his dead pet into flying helicopter after it is killed by a car | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Bart Jansen's Helicopter Cat On Display At Kunstrai Art Festival In Amsterdam | Strange News | Sky News". News.sky.com. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Dutch artist turns dead cat into remote-controlled helicopter, dubbed 'Orvillecopter'". NY Daily News. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Popkin, Helen A.S. "Dead cat copter: Art or 'macabre' pet send off?". MSNBC. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Orvillecopter, the stuffed helicopter cat, sparks global outrage". Los Angeles Times. 5 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Veel kritiek op maker helikopterkat tijdens KunstRAI - KUNST - PAROOL".
  8. ^ Esman, Abigail R. "A Dead Cat Flies. But Is It Art?". Forbes.
  9. ^ "Orvillecopter rises: value of cat-helicopter increase tenfold". www.telegraph.co.uk.
  10. ^ Adamoae, Ana-Maria. "Cele mai FRUMOASE FOTOGRAFII din 2012 (partea a II-a)". Evenimentul zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  11. ^ "In pictures: Animals of 2012". BBC Online. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Tổng hợp chuyện lạ 2012 qua từng tháng". Viet Times Australia (in Vietnamese). 28 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Die Bilder des Jahres (The pictures of the year)", Der Spiegel, 18 December 2012
  14. ^ Tina Costanza (26 December 2012). "The most unusual tech stories of 2012 (videos)". siliconrepublic.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  15. ^ Rude Tube: Welcome to 2013, Channel 4, 2013