In this post I pondered whether dolphins blowing bubble rings were a form of art. After all they serve no purpose except aesthetic ones – the dolphins are having fun and stare at them. So now we have this video of an elephant painting a self portrait.
Whether methodically trained to do this or not, how is it different than a person painting by plan? If you are trained to paint faux marble, or you paint by numbers, or you watch a show and follow along. What if you’re trained in a style? At what point does this trained mimicry become art, and when is it not? Is this elephant making art? Or is it just trained obedience, like a dog playing fetch?
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posted by Trout Monfalco