Art, Music, and Monkey Business

If one thousand monkeys type for one thousand years on one thousand typewriters, will the produce Shakespeare as the result of some fluke of statistics? While this thought experiment's origins are said to be an argument of evolution vs intelligent design, the image of a room full of monkeys tapping away at keyboards has taken on a life of its own since then. Although it's a favorite visual of comedy writers (“It was the best of times, it was the "blurst" of times'? You stupid monkey!”) the idea of the next best seller being written by a primate isn't solely the domain of sitcoms- in 2003 a group at the University of Plymouth gave a computer and keyboard to six celebes crested macaques with a radio link connecting it to a website that would show their progress.
When introduced to this writing format the alpha male of the troupe started the creative flow by bashing the keyboard repeatedly with a rock and the rest of the macaques continued by urinating and defecating on the keys, which does show a level of sophistication considered typical for the internet. Unfortunately the monkeys were only able to produce 5 pages of writing before the machine was destroyed, mostly the letter “S” over and over, and dreams of the first monkey novel being published were crushed. While the “writing” itself was uninteresting Mike Phillips, director of the university's Institute of Digital Arts and Technology, explained that there was still knowledge gained by those watching. “They were quite interested in the screen, and they saw that when they typed a letter, something happened,” said Phillips. “There was a level of intention there." Of course, even if a monkey could learn English, primate behaviorists say it is still unlikely that they would be able to write a screen play since they lack a refined “theory of mind”- the development necessary to understand the thought processes and motivations of others. Instead of a classic tragedy where two star crossed lovers are forced apart due to family loyalty and conflicting emotions, their writing would more likely consist of one-dimensional rants and manifestos declaring the excellence of bananas.

So monkey literacy is out of the question, but what about art without a language barrier? In 1956 Desmond Morris, the human star of the TV show “Zootime”, started creating art with Congo, one of the show's chimpanzee stars. When Morris offered the chimp a pencil and paper, Congo responded by drawing several lines. As they continued to work together Congo showed a basic understanding of composition and balance in the drawings with his favorite technique being a fan pattern that he first imitated, then began to repeat and alter. Congo received no rewards for these paintings and would work on each picture until he felt it was complete. According to Morris, “It was truly art for art's sake. Congo became increasingly obsessed with his regular painting sessions. If I tried to stop him before he had finished a painting, he would have a screaming fit... and if I tried to persuade him to go on painting after he considered that he had finished a picture, he would stubbornly refuse." Congo's art would turn out to be a hit at auctions, even selling better than works by Andy Warhol and Renoir at some auctions and prompting Salvador Dali to opine that "The hand of the chimpanzee is quasi-human; the hand of Jackson Pollock is totally animal”. While Congo's abstract creations were a hit in the art world, it was difficult to determine the intent behind the painting as it did not seem to represent anything, and of course there was no way to ask the artist. Another primate however, Koko the gorilla, was famous for her ability to communicate through sign language. So when Koko was taught to paint and created a picture with a rudimentary body and wings, her trainers were able to ask her what she had painted. “A bird,” Koko replied, suggesting that while they may not be as talented as a human adult it is certainly possible for a gorilla to use symbolism to draw things they have seen. Although the intelligence and physiology of primates is much more similar to our own, other animals have also shown an ability to draw.

created by Michael the gorilla

For example in 1973, an asian elephant named Ruby came to the Phoenix Zoo. After seeing Ruby doodling in the dirt with sticks one day her keeper started to provide her with brushes and paint, and the resulting paintings have since raised more than $200,000 for the zoo. Ruby's paintings were not known for their composition, but did seem to show a representation of the world around her through color. On one occasion after an ambulance was parked near her enclosure Ruby chose to paint in the same red, yellow and white colors of the siren's flashing lights. Other times she would paint in the colors that the zoo keepers wore, and she showed a preference for painting with green, yellow, blue and red. Primates are also able to show these color distinctions- Congo the chimp chose the color red most often, and blue the least. Michael, a gorilla like Koko who had been taught to sign, chose only black and white from a variety of colors for a painting he referred to as “Apple chase” in apparent reference to a black and white dog named Apple who was the gorilla's playmate. While these anecdotes seem to point to animals being able to use color accurately, there is one problem with this idea- the photoreceptors that perceive color are not always the same three that humans have. Chimpanzees and other diurnal primates do see colors the way we do, so Michael's use of color is likely intentional. But Ruby, like all elephants, has eyes suited for the low light of dusk and dawn with only two photoreceptor pigments. It is difficult for behavioral tests to tell exactly what this means, but humans with similar color blindness are only able to see blue and yellow, with any other color coming out as the primary it is closest to or shades of white and grey. On the other side of this color sensitivity however is another animal- the vision of birds uses four color receptors, resulting in vision capable of a wide range of vivid colors. Ravens in captivity can use tools such as paintbrushes to create, and the satin bowerbird even “paints” it's nest with a colorful pigment made from plants and saliva in it's attempts to attract a mate.

created by Ruby the elephant

Since 1997, elephant expert Richard Lair has been teaching elephants about art through the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project. And in the spring of 1999, Lair teamed up with composer David Soldier to try a new idea- elephants liked listening to music, could they learn to play it as well? They decided it was worth a shot and soon they had built elephant sized xylophones and drums and were teaching elephants to play in what was dubbed the Thai Elephant Orchestra, and the pachyderm performers did not disappoint. "Elephants have a strong sense of rhythm; they learn to play fast, in a matter of hours, and some even improvise," says Soldier. The unconventional percussionists play regularly at the Thai Elephants Conservation Center in Lampang, and have even released two albums. But despite the apparent musical talent of elephants, it is another species that most people think of first when connecting animals to music- songbirds. As recently as World War II, these passerines were a subject of interest in many music departments for their ability to finely discriminate characteristics of sound as well as their ability to produce music. One species in particular, a type of parrot known as the budgerigar, was even considered to have perfect pitch and the ability to remember sounds over a long period of time. While songbirds each have their own unique “signature” that they use in their music the songs are learned at a young age and do not change, so while they are skilled performers they lack the creativity of song writing. Although these tunes are most commonly used for announcing territory and finding a mate, older or domesticated birds that no longer have these concerns have still been observed singing apparently for the pure enjoyment that it brings them, in much the same way that humans sing in the shower when we think no one can hear us.

created by Congo the chimpanzee

The question of whether animals are capable of creating art is an important one, as it offers a valuable insight into their cognitive ability. But the difficulty in answering that question lies in even more questions- how do we define art in the first place? When we listen to our favorite band play or read a novel that stirs our emotions, we often take into account the talent involved to be part of what makes it “art”. Although Congo the chimpanzee is able to create rudimentary designs so can most children, and Congo's talent is already at it's peak. Maybe even more important than ability is creativity- art requires creation and innovation. The music of a songbird trills, flows, and uses a range of pitches that many singers would do anything to achieve, but they are limited only to those songs they are taught early in life. Most importantly, art must be created for it's own sake. If art is not made with the intent of bringing enjoyment or sharing feeling, either to the artist or to those viewing it, can it be called art at all? Unfortunately without the language to share the intent that led these animals to create we must continue to observe and make our best predictions of what those intentions might be. The variety of human experience that we experience also leads us to a second puzzle- if one member of a species can create art, does that mean they all can? Not everyone has the same ability to song on key, write poetry, or draw. So does Koko's talent mean that other gorillas could also learn to draw or is does it make her a primate genius, a sort of gorilla Monet? With continued artistic opportunities for these animals we may know eventually, but for now the important thing is to appreciate these animals for what they do have to offer us. Even if they are not as sophisticated as human artists we can still enjoy the things they create- the whistling notes of a bird, the finger painting of a chimpanzee, and the doodling of an elephant as it draws in the sand. And someday, just maybe, we'll even have a play written by monkeys.

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