The zoo’s collection of art by amateurs is a fascinating and little known part of the institution. The pieces in this blog are just a small sample of the more than 50,000 artworks created by members of the public who have been inspired by the zoo’s animals and facilities.

Tigers and elephants dominate the zoo’s collection of amateur art. But, if you look closely, there are other animal artists here too; artists like Erin McCafferty whose work is in the zoo’s collection because she was inspired by her dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Chester that was euthanized in 2013 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Their story is part of why members of the public create their artwork and donate it to the zoo’s collection. Big cats, like Chester, are also popular subjects for original art by artists at all levels.

The primary goal of this blog is to share with our visitors the wide range of artistic styles and media used by amateur animal artists today. We hope you enjoy it and find something you might want to buy to decorate your home or office. If so, please remember that 15% of all sales go directly to supporting the care and feeding of our animals.”

*”Zoo art” is an all-encompassing term for art made by animals in zoos and art made by zoo staff that references animals or animal life. It is intended to embrace everything from the painting of elephants, birds and gorillas to the crafting of jewelry using animal teeth, bones and shells.

Tone:informative and factual

Zookeepers make art. They are professional artists, and they have a body of work that is as varied and creative as that of any human artist.

On the walls at zoos you will find paintings, sculptures, carvings, glasswork, photographs, video art and even performance pieces. Most of it is excellent. Some of it is genius. And most people have no idea this art exists.

The secret is that zoos are embarrassed by their art. Most of it was made by untrained staff members who were just doing it for fun on their own time. The zoos’ attitude seems to be: “That’s nice, dear, but we’re not going to put it on display.”

Of course, the staff members who made these works didn’t display them either. They gave them away to friends or sold them for next to nothing to local galleries where they languish in obscurity next to the work of amateurs who never studied art or had any professional training at all.

Because I have been one of those amateurs myself — a professional writer who has made some amateurish artwork — I feel a special bond with zoo art (which I’ve written about here before). I know how hard it is to get through all the

Zoo art refers to sculptures created by non-humans. These pieces are prized because they are not mass produced and handmade. The artists of the zoo art, who are also not human, create a variety of different types of art.

Description:

The first type is written art. This is the most common type of zoo art. This can include written stories, poetry and song lyrics. All of this is done by the non-human artist on sheets of paper that resemble those used by humans. The second type is visual art. This is another very common type of zoo art. Visual arts are paintings as well as sculptures which can be abstract or representational. This kind of art is used to express the artist’s feelings about their environment and also political statements about their environment and humanity in general. The third type of zoo art is musical instrument making or playing. This kind has instruments that are shaped like guitars, pianos and drums among others, although these instruments do not make sound the way their human counterparts do through vibration but rather through movement of air (or water) across the surface of the instrument (or animal). A fourth type of zoo art that is relatively rare is dance performance arts. Dance performances typically take place on a stage but may occur in other public spaces

Zoo art is a uniquely human expression. It is truly the art of our time. The skill, patience, and maturity required make it a highly respected form of artwork by both artists and patrons alike.

The first zoo artist was not human but rather a German Shepherd, named Rolf. At the age of eight months, he began drawing on a white board that was intended to cover his food dish. His owner, an art collector, recognized his talent and took him to meet with several of the most prestigious animal art galleries in the country. There was great interest in Rolf’s work as it showed some similarities to the post impressionist works of Van Gogh , particularly with its use of color theory.

This led to interest from other animal artists who saw Rolf’s work as trailblazing and inspirational.

As well as being very popular with the public, zoo art has been highly praised by critics for its innovation and originality. Many commentators have noted that it is unique in being able to bridge the gap between animal art and human art by showing such similar characteristics to both types of works.*

Zoo art is an art form that reflects the public’s taste. The paintings of animals in the Art Institute of Chicago, for example, were chosen by popular vote in a ballot that ran from January through April 2010.

Taste is a funny thing. It can be illogical, but it’s also how we connect to each other as humans. My favorite movie isn’t necessarily your favorite movie, but if we both know and like Casablanca, that’s a connection between us. Taste is how we know that we are human.

The animal paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago reflect our current American taste for bold images of big animals against simple backgrounds. I find this taste fascinating. And I find it especially interesting because popular taste changes slowly: these paintings will still feel fresh decades from now, even as the zeitgeist shifts away from them.

The overwhelming winner of the contest is “After the Hunt,” an image of three deer gathered to drink at a stream by John Frederick Kensett, painted in 1868, which won with more than 12 percent of the votes cast. To my eye, it’s not a very good painting — too much brown, too many trees — but people liked it enough that they bought copies of it in great numbers (the

“I have no idea what people see in that garbage,” says the proprietor of a gallery for contemporary art. “The artists have powerful motivations, and their work is often interesting. But it’s not what people want to look at.”

People do want to look at it, though. Art museums fill up with the stuff, and people keep buying it. What could be more puzzling than that?

One explanation is that popular art contains ideas which are useful in everyday life. The same reason people listen to pop music: they want to learn how other people think.

Taste in art is like taste in anything else: you get better at recognizing what you like, and you get worse at recognizing what other people like. If you want to know why your opinion differs from the conventional one, studying popular art will give you a clue.