BS: Elephant Art... your caption

Subject: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Alice
Date: 29 Mar 08 - 09:03 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk Van Jumbo's brother Theo has been very supportive.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Mar 08 - 09:58 PM

I watched it. I'm still speechless. The only caption I can think of is:

HOLY SHIT!

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: topical tom
Date: 29 Mar 08 - 10:16 PM

Time to pack his or her trunk, grab the paintings and head for an art museum.


   Truly amazing ,though!

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: frogprince
Date: 29 Mar 08 - 11:57 PM

I watched part of it, noticing that most of the elephant wasn't in sight during the process, and thinking that someway, somehow, this was being faked. Having seen it all, I don't see any conceivable way it could be fraudulent. I'm absolutely knocked out. How much information does anyone have about this? If it simply proves that an elephant can be trained by rote to do something this subtle and complex, it's still stunning. I would absolutely love to believe the creature is consciously creating images.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Alice
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 12:22 AM

Google elephant art and you will find many articles on this.
The tourists who were watching were able to buy the drawings for about $40.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Alice
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 12:29 AM

http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=69
There is a bio about the elephant in the youtube video.


http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=69

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Amos
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 12:41 AM

Those are incredible and beautiful.


Thanks for posting them.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: CarolC
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 12:44 AM

"Be nice to elephants"

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 12:44 AM

All the males think that their tails are bigger.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Little Hawk
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 01:58 AM

Wonderful!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Severn
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 10:59 AM

It not only can paint an elephant, it seems it can draw a crowd, as well (from the scetchy information given)!

Portrait of the Artist As a Young Calf?

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: folk1e
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 08:42 PM

"The cost of Ivory!"

Makes you think of our "superiority" over the rest of the animals doesn't it!

Subject: Nothing to do with Music - But Watch!!
From: RTim
Date: 31 Mar 08 - 07:39 PM

Hi al,

Sory this is Nothing to do with folk music or any music - but you shoulkd watch as it is unbelievable!!!
Tim Radford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mPltVHkxyw&feature=related

Moved from another thread on the same subject.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 04:41 PM

It's deja vu again...

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Peace
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 04:42 PM

I am havin' some serious flashbacks . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 05:19 PM

Does anyone seriously believe this obvious fake? i'm surprised.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Art Thieme
Date: 01 Apr 08 - 07:32 PM

After Watergate was all pretty much blown over, Richard Nixon was going out and making speeches again. We all took note by saying, "Well, that ain't no big thing. Even a dead whale on a flatcar draws crowds!"

Art

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Apr 08 - 12:05 PM

caption:
"Does my butt look big?"



PS

I have known animals to sometimes have more a complex communication or action or emotions than some people I have known.

You don't have to be a Dr. Doolittle to see it but just by knowing it is possible you will gain much insight into other bands of communication.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: CarolC
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 11:46 AM

After watching several videos of elephants painting, it's obvious that the elephants are doing the painting themselves, but it appears that they are trained to paint specific pictures. I saw some videos in which a trainer would put the brush in the elephant's trunk, and then, holding the elephant's tusk while it held its trunk steady, he or she would guide the elephant's head to make a particular drawing. I also saw some elephants make the drawings without any assistance from a trainer, so I'm guessing that once the elephant is trained, it is able to produce the paintings without any assistance.

So I guess what this means is that in the case of some drawings at least, elephants don't have all that much artistic ability, but I think that if they can be trained to paint realistic images (and many people also need to be trained to produce realistic images), this nevertheless indicates a fairly high level of intelligence.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: dwditty
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 04:23 PM

Obviously a McCain campaign trick!

But an impressive one, at that.

dw

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Wesley S
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 05:19 PM

"So I guess what this means is that in the case of some drawings at least, elephants don't have all that much artistic ability, but I think that if they can be trained to paint realistic images (and many people also need to be trained to produce realistic images), this nevertheless indicates a fairly high level of intelligence."

For some reason all of this reminds me of Thomas Kinkade galleries.....

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Peace
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 05:44 PM

A wing chun instructor once told me that to 'master' a move one had to repeat it 5,000 times. Whether that was for real or an admonition to practise lots I don't know. Like, who counts? However, . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Apr 08 - 09:18 PM

The videos are pretty convincing but is it great art?

Well, I guess that all depends if the elephant gets a good press agent.

This really is very interesting.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 01:19 PM

The great pyramid temples of India were built with elephants and 3 mile ramps. No modern crane is capable of that kind of building today.

India honors the intelligence of elephants in the God Ganesh.

Subject: RE: BS: Elephant Art... your caption
From: SharonA
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 03:09 PM

My caption? It would have to be a lyric by the late great Harry Chapin:

"Flowers are red. Green leaves are green. There's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen."