August Song(2011)

Filmmaker Jodie Mack’s video animated short is the cat’s pajamas. Literally. The London-born experimental animator’s overlay of recycled everyday patterns and materials has a homey, patchwork quality well-suited to its just-barely-domesticated feline subjects. Its playful and eye-catching collage also offers us the chance to consider the relationship between fine-art sensibilities and the castoff items of mass-market design. – Robert Avila