Created by Angus Stewart Gender Male | Species Cat | |
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Occupation Celebrity cat, "famous for being famous" | ||
The tobermory cat
Tobermory Cat is the name of a fictional celebrity, ginger cat used as an "evolving, interactive artwork" by Scottish artist Angus Stewart.
Contents
Background
The Distillery Cats originally lived at The Tobermory Distillery Tobermory on Mull, Argyll, Scotland, their two ginger cats were named Tobermory and Ledaig after two whiskies produced at the Tobermory Distillery. The cat named Tobermory remained at the distillery, Ledaig later moved to Browns Hardware Shop. A third ginger cat known as the Mishnish Cat lived at Mishnish Hotel. Together these three similar ginger cats became a single fictional cat character named Tobermory Cat in a Facebook page created by Angus Stewart. Currently there are two cats, (Tobermory having been killed in September 2012).
Angus Stewart's Facebook page entitled Tobermory Cat, created 25 Feb 2011. Due to the Facebook page and promotional merchandise the name Tobermory Cat became widely used by visitors and residents of Tobermory. He published a book, Tobermory Cat subtitled famous for being famous, published 22 September 2012, Tobermory Cat Publishing, Softback, 52 pages, ISBN 0957463103. There is also a later illustrated children's book, The Tobermory Cat published 12 October 2012, by Debi Gliori published by Birlinn. Birlinn, Limited, Hardback, 32 pages, ISBN 1780270992. A cat named Tobermory featured in a collection of stories titled The Chronicles of Clovis published in 1911,
Angus Stewart's Tobermory Cat
On 25 February 2011, Tobermory artist Angus Stewart created a Facebook page entitled "Tobermory Cat" containing photoshopped images of the ginger cats. As the Facebook page gained popularity the celebrity cat became an "internet sensation", attracting regional and national press coverage in The Guardian and BBC Scotland's television news programme Reporting Scotland. Stewart's artistic creation is a photographic composition and narrative centered on a celebrity cat called Tobermory Cat. The work uses photographs of the everyday antics of three cats in a work usually set in Tobermory however Tobermory Cat was seen traveling around the world in Spring 2012. The resulting photographs are described using exaggerated celebrity terms, the premise being that by repeatedly describing a cat as famous it will become famous. The work explores the nature of the construct of celebrity through a fictional cat who is simply "famous for being famous". As part of the creative work, the artist documented the process of creating and promoting his fictional celebrity cat on the Facebook page. In December 2011 a prominent Scottish publisher and a children's book illustrator visited the artist with a view to producing a series of children's books about the famous Tobermory Cat. There followed a long running legal dispute centering on creative rights leading to publisher Birlinn challenging the artists trademark "Tobermory Cat" in both the UK and USA. The impact of the dispute became a prominent theme on Stewart's Tobermory Cat Facebook page.
Tobermory Cat is now a registered UK trademark held by Angus Stewart. The dispute over the rights and attribution of the work was covered in the media during November 2012. Birlinn raised an opposition action against Angus Stewart's Tobermory Cat trademark at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 30 October 2014. On 27 July 2015 a public statement was released by both parties, the matter having been resolved by means of a license agreement.
