(11 Nov 1998) English/Nat
You've heard of pop art - well now comes trunk art.
It's being taught at the world's first art academy for elephants, which has opened in Thailand.
The project encourages them to express their inner selves through brush, paint and canvas.
Early afternoon at the academy, and class is in full swing.
In a jungle clearing, the pupils produce abstract after abstract with real patience and an often delicate touch.
Zoo keepers have long noticed that elephants doodle in the dust with sticks.
Giving them a brush instead of a branch is a more recent development.
At this sanctuary in northern Thailand, three young elephants in particular stand head and shoulders above the rest.
In the five months since they first dipped their brushes, it's said they've developed at an astonishing rate.
Alex Melamid and Vitaly Komar first collaborated with elephants in America, three
years ago and are the two New York based artists behind this latest project.
The Lampang academy is the first attempt to create a centre where the animals and their handlers can be taught basic techniques.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"There's dispute over whether it's better or worse than a famous artist like Jackson Pollock or de Kooning but it's not the point. The point is, the average elephant can paint better than the average human."
SUPER CAPTION: Alex Melamid, Artist
The mahout - or handler - chooses the paint and gives it to the elephant, but the animal decides when it wants a new colour, and when the painting's finished.
It's a longstanding partnership, forged over centuries of forestry work, and is vital to the success of the project.
Even so the finished canvas is definitely the elephant's work.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"You can simply recognise their individuality. I didn't believe before in reincarnation of their souls but now I believe that each elephant has an individual soul and it expresses itself."
SUPER CAPTION: Vitaly Komar, artist
There is a very serious side to all of this - the plight of the Thai elephant is pitiful.
The decline of the logging business has put many out of work.
Their numbers have dwindled from 11,000 to 3,000 in recent years and many of those are now virtual beggars on the streets of distant Bangkok.
The sanctuary at Lampang gives the luckier ones a decent and secure life.
Here they can roam free, as well as earn money for their mahouts though shows for tourists.
The aim of the art academy is to provide an extra activity for the more skilled elephants.
The pictures are sold to tourists, so it also brings in more money, and according to one critic, who's a supporter of the project, they have genuine merit.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"By the standards we use to judge abstract painting in humans, elephant paintings are very good, ranging from a sort of lyrical and expressive, light-hearted approach to a more vigorous, more emotional and angst-ridden style."
SUPER CAPTION: Mia Fineman, Art Historian
There are big plans for the future of elephant art.
Another academy will open in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya, later this week.
Meanwhile, back in the United States, the project's backers are discussing sponsorship deals that could put elephant art on a range of well-known products.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
