The Black Vault

Elephant Artist too much
Video
http://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/vi ... ant_artist


Elephant 'self-portrait' on show
Picture by an elephant
One of the pictures said to have been painted by an elephant
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."

Elephant painting

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.

Elephant expert Dr Joyce Poole, who has studied the animals for 30 years, said she owned an elephant painting but had not come across animals painting their own images.

The Oslo-based scientist said: "I have seen elephants painting, but it was very free-flow.

"It's certainly capable of drawing an elephant, and could be trained, but might not really understand what it was doing."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scot ... 203120.stm

Wow, amazing. This should almost go in the religion and spiritual forum.

greeney2 wrote:They probably cheat with those old kind of number paintings, any elephant can do them.

Pretty amazing really that its even possible. I'm sure the PETA people will come out of the woodwork on this one.

I don't see any numbers

Why Elephants Paint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACjjot9P ... re=related


ELEPHANT PAINTING POPPY FLOWERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz4CFAOY ... re=related


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/ ... 68x317.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_u_8Q4k_ofzU/S ... -field.jpg

I think what greeney means is that after they teach the elephant how to write symbols, they then make the elephant think he is writing symbols in different spots of the painting, but it all meshes together as a whole; completing the final painting. All this without the elephant realizing what it is actually creating.

Regardless of how this was taught though, still an amazing feat. And who is to say the elephant doesn't know what it is painting? Elephants are incredible animals.

I hope this is not off topic, but this made me think about how ravens are also pretty amazing animals. I watched a documentary on the BBC and they showcased how ravens exhibit a wealth of logic and reasoning skills. They also have advanced forms of communication with hundreds of different calls meaning different things.

Here are some videos showcasing their concept of logic and reasoning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Z6Mvjd ... 3924100B47

Crows adapting to urban life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq ... playnext=4

capricorn wrote:I hope this is not off topic, but this made me think about how ravens are also pretty amazing animals. I watched a documentary on the BBC and they showcased how ravens exhibit a wealth of logic and reasoning skills. They also have advanced forms of communication with hundreds of different calls meaning different things.

Here are some videos showcasing their concept of logic and reasoning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Z6Mvjd ... 3924100B47

Crows adapting to urban life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq ... playnext=4

Watch this

Baby elephant is taught to paint by its artistic mum and dad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-E8bnsnzSE&NR=1

how very Ganesh

oh, and love the Corvids, too

Its just amazing I can't even do this

3rd day Amazing Original Elephant Painting(39" x 59") by Elephant Artist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Vuv4Sc ... re=related

MIRACLE BIG...Sunflower-- 100% Original Painting - by Elephant Artist- from Thailand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW1piOqk ... re=related