Feline Art Critic Sick of Going to Crappy Shows

Stella the cat started her journalism career as an intern at The Village Voice twelve years ago. Following a short stint as a stringer at Newsday, the kitty wordsmith found a home as art critic for Time Out New York in 2011. Five years into what she’s long told friends was her dream job, Stella is starting to burn out. 

Friends and co-workers say it’s starting to show in the cat’s work. An audit of her reviews of gallery shows over the past five years shows that her earlier pieces tended to be upbeat and positive. More recent reviews, however, are often biting, sarcastic, and spiritless.

“Stella’s probably been to, I dunno, 1,500 art openings at this point,” said Time Out assistant events editor Nicole Thackery. “She’s seen a lot of great art, but a lot of really bad stuff, too.”

Thackery thinks that all the bad stuff is starting to get to Stella.

“We’ve talked about maybe letting her take a sabbatical to work on some book projects she’s been kicking around,” said Thackery. “You know, clear her head, let her rediscover what she initially loved about this beat.”

Via WG55.