Elephant Artists: Painting for Peanuts Quiz

Answer: Their former jobs in the logging industry have disappeared

Some of the answer choices for this question may be silly, but the problem of deforestation and the loss of jobs for elephants is real. For centuries, Asian elephants have been bred and trained to work in the forests of southeast Asia. Since these jobs have disappeared, not only elephants but also their mahouts (trainers) have become unemployed. Revenue from selling elephant paintings, books and videos helps to defray the (often considerable) cost of supporting such large and wonderful animals.

Answer: Komar & Melamid

No quiz on elephant art could really even begin without mentioning former Russian dissident artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid, who have been working with elephant artists since 1995. Komar and Melamid founded the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project in 1998 and have seen it grow to include talented pachyderms in five countries. Among them are Thai elephant artists Kamsan and Larnkam.
(www.elephantart.com)

Answer: Thailand

The first academy was located in Lampang in northern Thailand. By the winter of 2004, the program had expanded to include four other academies in Thailand, located in Ayuthaya, Kohchang, Chiang Mai and Surin. Komar and Melamid have also established academies in Kerala, India; near Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and two in Indonesia (Bali and Borobudur).

The academies can be visited, if you're in the neighborhood.

Answer: Abstract expressionism

(from www.elephantart.com)
"As painters, elephants are masters of the rapidly executed, spontaneous gesture, and their canvases often recall the exuberant physicality of Abstract Expressionism. As New York art historian Mia Fineman has commented, 'In the 1950s, artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline embraced the expansive gestural freedom of Action Painting as a way of harnessing the beast within and channeling it onto the canvas. For elephants, most of whom remain art-world outsiders, this unbridled spontaneity comes naturally.'"

Answer: True

Although the established art academies are all in Asia and teach Asian elephants, some African elephants living in zoos paint with great exuberance and talent.

Answer: Yellow

Why elephants are so attracted to yellow is a mystery to this quiz author, but feel free to send me your musings on the subject.
(And if this question is a bit much for you to believe, here's the reference. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/NYBUFsurapa.html)

Answer: Knoxville

The sale of elephant paintings helps support the Knoxville Zoo's elephant habitat.
(www.knoxville-zoo.org/elephants.htm)

Answer: Renee

In addition to being a talented and successful elephant artist, Renee is a working mother too. Renee's son Louie was born in April of 2003.

Mamie (whose name means "child of light"), Ellie (short form of Eleanor, "mercy"), and Jana ("harvest of fruit") are all elephant artists who live in the Knoxville Zoo.

Answer: Elephant Guernica

Art is subjective, but "Elephant Guernica" is certainly an interesting work.
See it at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/ny/NYBUFguernica.jpg

Answer: All of these

Elephant paintings are also owned by royalty (the King of Thailand's sister) and have been discussed by host Jay Leno on American TV's "The Tonight Show" and in an Animal Planet documentary.
(http://discovery.juicecreative.com.au/background.php)

I hope you have enjoyed taking this quiz as much as I enjoyed creating it for you!