Animal Appreciation of Beauty

Animal Appreciation of Beauty

• Animals exhibit artistic abilities beyond the realm of human creativity.
• Neanderthals carved patterns into deer bone 51,000 years ago.
• Homo erectus etched abstract lines onto a seashell 500,000 years ago.
• Congo, a chimpanzee, created over 400 abstract paintings.
• Picasso is known to have owned Congo's work.

Artistic Behaviors in Animals

• Animals make structures with aesthetic value, unlike humans.
• Spiders build intricate webs for hunting.
• Bees construct honeycombs for practical use.
• Pufferfish create geometric patterns on the seafloor.
• Females inspect the pufferfish sculptures, and those that display more attractive markings are preferred for mating.

Bowerbirds' Artistic Displays

• Vogelkop Garden Bowerbirds build elaborate bowers to attract mates.
• Males decorate bowers to display their "fitness."
• Bowers contain sticks, moss, shells, fruits, flowers. Males may also use other items found near human settlements.
• Visual displays, ornaments, and forced perspective are used to attract the female.
• Individual birds have unique tastes (shape, size, number and contrast of ornaments.)

Animal Perception of Art

• Pigeons can discriminate Monet from Picasso.
• Koi fish can differentiate John Lee Hooker from Johann Sebastian Bach.
• Goldfish can distinguish Bach from Igor Stravinsky.
• Studies show that Java sparrows prefer Cubist paintings over Impressionist ones.
• Animals may be reinforced by the experience of viewing art.

Peacock's Tail and Evolutionary Advantages

• Peacock's tail feathers are extravagant and serve no purpose for flight.
• Tail size attracts predators.
• Brightly colored tails attract peahens for mating, driving evolutionary changes.
• Colorful plumage or bower decorations and visual displays are indicators of strength/fitness in males.
• Females could show a preference for high visual contrast and bright colors.