Usually when I mention I’m producing “The Eyes of Thailand”, a documentary on the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital, someone in the group asks, “Is that near where they have the painting elephants?”, obviously referencing the painting elephant video they saw on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk
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The answer is, yes, the FAE Elephant Hospital is near a conservation center that has painting elephants, but this brings up interesting questions I feel we should discuss, such as “why do elephants paint?”, “should humans sell their paintings to help cover the costs of caring for the animal?”, and “is this just another way to exploit an already endangered animal for financial gain?”
In May 2008, Francisco Vara-Orta wrote “Animals as Artists” for the LA Times’s L.A. Unleashed. His article sheds some light on the issue: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/05/a-muse-zoo-um-o.html
Photo: Morry Gash/Associated Press
