Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Are Animals Creative?

Track 1 ? WELL, THERE?S A DOG IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO THAT CAN PLAY THE PIANO.

[SFX: CHANDA PLAYING ?TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR? ON THE PIANO.]

Track 2 ? OF COURSE IT?S JUST A LITTLE TOY PIANO... WITH BLINKING RED LIGHTS THAT TELL YOU WHEN TO HIT THE KEYS. THERE?S ALSO DOG IN MANHATTAN THAT SORT OF DRAWS WITH ITS PAWS... AND REALLY THE REST OF ITS BODY TOO.

Ax 1 ? BOWMAN HASTIE: Her art is? definitely there?s a destructive element to it. You know she?s very aggressive and she sort of goes at it and attacks it.

[SFX: TILLIE MAULING CANVAS.]

Track 3 ? THIS DOG HAS 38 PROFESSIONAL GALLERY SHOWINGS UNDER HER... BELT... OR COLLAR OR WHATEVER. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TRAINING ELEPHANTS TO PAINT FOR YEARS. AND SELLING THAT ART. IF IT IS ART. AND EVEN IF IT IS... IS IT AN EXAMPLE OF ANIMAL CREATIVITY?

Ax 2 ? ALLISON KAUFMAN: it certainly could be.

Track 4 ? THIS IS ALLISON KAUFMAN? A GRADUATE STUDENT IN NEUROSCIENCE AT THE UNVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO SHE CO-AUTHORED A PAPER WITH HER HUSBAND CALLED ?APPLYING A CREATIVITY FRAMEWORK TO ANIMAL COGNITION.?

Ax 3 ? KAUFMAN: it?s very hard to say whether or not they?re aware that they?re creating art or creating something. but what you can say is that it?s definitely a novel behavior.

Track 5 ? THE PROBLEM WITH THE WORD CREATIVITY IS THAT IT CAN MEAN AN AWFUL LOT OF THINGS. AND UNDER THE CURRENT SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION... THE ONE KAUFMAN USES... BEING NOVEL ISN?T ENOUGH. SHE SAYS THE BEHAVIOR ALSO HAS TO BE APPROPRIATE.

Ax 4 ? KAUFMAN: So for example If I asked you to pave my driveway and you paved it with salami that would be novel but it wouldn?t be appropriate to the situation.

Track 6 ? WHEREAS UNDER AN ARTISTIC DEFINITION OF CREATIVITY... A SALAMI-PAVED DRIVEWAY WOULD PROBABLY GO FOR ONE-POINT-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN SOHO. BUT SEE... ANIMALS IN THE WILD DON?T HAVE TIME TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS OF EXISTENTIALISM. THEY?RE TOO BUSY COMING UP WITH CREATIVE WAYS TO SURVIVE. STILL, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN ANIMALS SEEM TO BE SURVIVING VIA ARTISTIC GUILE. TAKE THE AUSTRALIAN BOWERBIRD FOR EXAMPLE. IT?S THE MALES WHO BUILD THE NESTS.

Ax 5 ? KAUFMAN: and studies of these bowers is what the nest is called have shown that ones that are decorated better and with more novel things tend to be more attractive to females. bright shiny items. very bright colors of items at some level tell the female that this is a male that?s capable of finding these things.
SEAN: it also seems to be a recognition of aesthetics like brighter colors different textures do you know what I mean like they?re seeing that stuff and responding to it in some way.
KAUFMAN: absolutely and they are in some way.
SEAN: What about an elephant that?s been trained to play a percussive instrument improvisationally and then does so.
KAUFMAN: interesting um that?s a very interesting question?

[ELEPHANT MUSIC.]

Track 7 ? THIS IS A TRACK OF ELEPHONIC RHAPSODIES... THE SOPHMORE ALBUM OF A GROUP CALLED THE THAI ELEPHANT ORCHESTRA. THEY?RE... ELEPHANTS... HOLDING MALLETS IN THEIR TRUNKS AND BANGING ON HUGE INSTRUMENTS.

Ax 6 ? SOLDIER: the classic instrument is a big xylophone-like instrument thai people call it a renaat.

Track 8 ? DAVID SOLDIER WAS ONE OF THE PRODUCERS ON THE CD. ABOUT 6 YEARS AGO HE WENT OUT TO THE ELEPHANT CONSERVATION CENTER IN LAMPANG, THAILAND, TO HELP BUILD THE INSTRUMENTS AND TEACH THE ELEPHANTS TO PLAY THEM. THEY WERE ALREADY PAINTING HE SAYS SO MUSIC DIDN?T SEEM LIKE MUCH OF A STRETCH. AND A COUPLE OF THEM HAVE TAKEN TO THE RENAAT IN PARTICULAR HE SAYS.

Ax 7 ? SOLDIER: For instance the second cut on elephonic rhapsodies is verbatim one of the elephants poong improvising. by himself he wasn?t taught this melody he just made it up playing it on the renaat.

[MUSIC: PHONG SOLO.]

Track 9 ? APART FROM BEING A COMPOSER... SOLIDER RUNS A NEUROSCIENCE LAB AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. SO HE?S REALLY THE PERFECT GUY TO ASK WHETHER ANIMALS ARE CREATIVE.

Ax 8 ? SOLDIER: Being a biologist of course I?m going to jump on you and say we?re animals too so?

Track 10 ? NON-HUMAN ANIMALS I MEAN. ELEPHANTS.

Ax 9 ? SOLDIER: Do they have a concept of art? I don?t know. You know. Do they enjoy doing it? yes I believe some of them enjoy doing it. is that ?cause they?re bored? Yeah probably if they were living a more natural life they wouldn?t need to.

[MORE ELEPHANT MUSIC.]

Ax 10 ? SOLDIER: To me personally the science of this is ////// that they do it at all. That they make music. To me that?s the finding.

Track 10 ? DOES THAT MEAN THE ELEPHANTS ARE BEING CREATIVE? WELL, SOLDIER SAYS... IS THE SIXTH CHAIR VIOLINIST IN THE ORCHESTRA BEING CREATIVE? WHAT ABOUT THE KID WHO?S FORCED TO PLAY TROMBONE IN THE MARCHING BAND? AND YOU KNOW... YOU CAN ONLY ANSWER A SO MANY QUESTIONS WITH OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU?VE LEFT THE COLD ROOMS OF SCIENCE AND WANDERED INTO THE PATCHY THICKET OF PHILOSOPHY. SO I?M JUST GOING TO SETTLE THIS ISSUE RIGHT NOW. ARE ANIMALS CREATIVE? YES. YES THE ARE. THAT WAS EASY.

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