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Elephants that paint, birds that make music: Do animals have an aesthetic sense?

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterResearch

    Abstract

    Some forty years ago, the first gallery exhibition of paintings not of but by chimpanzees shocked the art world and precipitated much debate. The animals had produced abstract paintings pleasing to the human eye. Did this mean they had an aesthetic sense, an appreciation of beauty? Elephants, too, can paint - sales of their canvases are now being used to raise money for zoos and conservation - and so can seals and several other species. Is this really art, or are the paintings more or less accidentally pleasing to us but not to the animal itself? How can we decide whether these strokes of paint are art or mere daubing, made without awareness or any degree of artistic motivation or aesthetic sense? A similar question can be asked about other forms of art, especially music. Birdsong, for example, may be music to our ears, but do the birds appreciate it as an art form?
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationCerebrum 2007: Emerging Ideas in Brain Science
    EditorsCynthia A. Read
    Place of PublicationNew York, United States of America
    PublisherDana Press
    Pages137-150
    Edition1
    ISBN (Print)9781932594249
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

    Keywords

    • Animal Behaviour

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