Human beings have been creating art for tens of thousands of years.
What started with dabbing mineral pastes on the walls of caves has since evolved from there — until today, when we can create just about anything thanks to graphics technologies.
But the jury's still out on whether or not we're the only ones with a creative streak.
It's no secret that animals and humans often behave like each other — like this goat who thinks he can frequent restaurants for a meal — but is art something that sets us apart?
Maybe and maybe not. Looking at the photos below, it seems like there's evidence for both sides…
What do you think? Do you think animals might have a creative spark, or do you think that creating art is something that only humans have so far figured out?
Let us know what you think — or if one of your furry friends has ever surprised you with something artistic!
Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans have all been known to draw and paint. This makes sense when you consider that these animals are the most like us. They have been known to be capable of many human actions, including language. This piece titled Digit Master, was painted by a chimp named Bakhari from the Saint Louis Zoo in Missouri.
During the 1950s and '60s, art by non-human primates became popular, and many pieces were exhibited in modern art museums. Congo, whose painting is seen here, did seem to be interested in painting, though, and would even complain if his paints were taken away before he felt a painting was complete. He would also stop when he felt something was done.
This untitled painting was created by Baka, a Sumatran orangutan from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Though apes' art is always scribbly and abstract, they use the same techniques that human artists, especially children, do.
Some people feel that giving animals the opportunity to create art enriches their lives, but others think that many animals don't really care about creating art and that there are better ways to enrich animals' lives. This piece was created by Samantha, a Western lowland gorilla who lives at the Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania.
Primates aren't the only ones to make art, but they might be the only ones to enjoy it. Elephants aren't limited to just abstract images; they can actually create recognizable shapes! However, they just create the same lines over and over in a rote repetition, and seem to neither like nor hate painting. While elephants are highly intelligent and sensitive, they seem to prefer to express themselves in other ways. Many elephants are trained to paint for the amusement of tourists.
Most animal art is created in captivity or at least in the presence of humans. Male bowerbirds, though, like to create these artistic nests to attract a mate. This one went with a blue theme, and as humans encroach more and more on their habitat, many more of them use brightly-colored litter to decorate. While the birds are very detail-oriented and meticulous in their creations, there seem to be mixed opinions over whether this counts as "art."
And just as selfies are gaining recognition as a human art form, animals are getting into them, too — even if kind of accidentally. This elephant in Thailand snapped a selfie with a human friend. It was immediately nicknamed "The Elphie."
This famous selfie, taken by the very photogenic monkey you see here, opened up a copyright debate. The (human) owner of the camera wanted to claim the rights, but it was ruled to be in the public domain since the actual photographer was not human, and th
So what do you think? Does simply putting some color on a piece of paper mean an understanding of art? Or is it more complex than that?
And maybe most baffling of all: how will we ever know?
These are all pretty big concepts, so you could always try SHARING this article to see if you can get a conversation going!
