Elephant painting

[topal]

Prepare to be stunned...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LHoyB81LnE

Topal

[trojan]

Well its either a con - notice you don't much see any of the elephant painting from a distance - or its just a well trained elephant ? I don't much like to think of elephants having this drummed into them.

Looking at the comments below the video seems some are incredulous that some actually believe this is an elephant painting a picture from what it sees and others are getting annoyed at this, swearing its for real.

I'm firmly in the first camp lol but i wonder whats the point of these kind of hoaxes ? And if its not just camera trickery its worse since I reckon elephants have got better things to do with their time - like being elephants not circus acts

[trojan]

You don't really beleive this is an elephant painting do you Topal - you're kidding aren't you :eek:

[listener]

ummm, i posted the very same video on the other thread about elephants yesterday.....it never occured to me that it could be a hoax. gee, i dont think it's far-fetched at all, elephants can hold mystery and potential, and maybe even paint. why would one assume animals are not capable of being creative if given a bit of instruction?

[topal]

You don't really beleive this is an elephant painting do you Topal - you're kidding aren't you :eek:

Trojan...ye of little faith. This isn't a fake.

I don't actually like the idea either, but I think it's an amazing example of animal intelligence. However, we mustn't make the mistake that the Elephant knows it's "art." That's something different. but it does seem to be true that some of these elephants actually enjoy the experience.

You can read more at the urban legend busting website snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/elephantpainting.asp)

Here's an extract:

Origins: The above-linked video is "true" in the sense that it represents the real phenomenon of elephants who have learned to paint — with the caveats that "painting" in this sense means the animals outline and color specific drawings they've been taught to replicate (rather than abstractly making free-form portraits of whatever tickles their pachydermic fancies at the moment), they work under the direction of trainers, they don't all exhibit the same level of proficiency, and the quality of their output can be highly variable.

A BBC News article described an exhibition of such paintings at an Edinburgh gallery in 1996:
Pictures which were painted by elephants have gone on display at an Edinburgh gallery.

Art graduate
Victoria Khunapramot, 26, has brought the paintings from Thailand to the Dundas Gallery on Dundas Street.

They include "self-portraits" by Paya, who is said to be the only elephant to have mastered his own likeness.

Paya is one of six elephants whose keepers have taught them how to hold a paintbrush in their trunks. They drop the brush when they want a new colour.

Mrs Khunapramot, from Newington, said: "Many people cannot believe that an elephant is capable of producing any kind of artwork, never mind a self-portrait.

"But they are very intelligent animals and create the entire paintings with great gusto and concentration within just five or 10 minutes — the only thing they cannot do on their own is pick up a paintbrush, so it gets handed to them.

"They are trained by artists who fine-tune their skills, and they paint in front of an audience in their conservation village, leaving no one in any doubt that they are authentic elephant creations."

Mrs Khunapramot, who set up the Thai Fine Art company after studying the history of art in St Andrews and business management at Edinburgh's Napier University, said it took about a month to train the animals to paint. The web site of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project explains the background behind elephants' being taught to paint, with the resulting artworks being sold and the monies so raised being used to fund elephant conservation projects. The site includes a video gallery that features several clips of pachyderm artists in action similar to the one linked above, as well as galleries displaying the individual elephants' works. (Based on the similarity of drawings, we'd guess that the elephant shown in the example video is Hong, an eight-year-old female living at the Maetaman Elephant Camp in Thailand.)

Another photo gallery that captures painting pachyderms in action in Thailand can be viewed here.
_________

Topal

[meng]

I think it's neat. Whether or not the elephants are creatively aware of what they're painting or are just simply trained what to do with a brush stroke for stroke, they seem to enjoy the activity, shown by the patient disposition in which they perform.

Contrary to some commonly held opinion, many animals love to work and play with and/or for humans, i.e. dogs, horses, porpoises and elephants. The ones to feel sorry for are not the trained and working animals but the ones who are tethered and neglected or abused.

[hollis]

Hey has anyone here read the book "Modoc"? Highly recommend, for elephant lovers ,& a true story to boot.