An Elephant's Home

South Korean Elephant Talks

2010-10-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/11/kosik-talking-elephant-at_n_758335.html

Wandek Gives Birth to 3rd Baby at Elephantstay in Ayutthaya

2010-03-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

Michelle and Ewa announce the birth of Wandek's 3rd baby on March 29. 2010.

You can read about it and see pictures here.

Congratulations!!!!!!!

"Elephant Whisperers" from the Bangkok Post, Jan 14, 2010

2010-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

For centuries, elephants have been a crucial part of the lives of the Kui people in the northeastern province of Surin, whose expertise in catching and taming them has been passed on by their ancestors

see full article at

http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/travelscoop/31002/elephant-whisperers

Elephant Painting Update October 2009

2009-10-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

l to r: Damnoen Surang u-patham mahout (handler) to Elephant Artist Kham Tool, Elephant-Paintings.com owner Scott Rosenberg and Nopawan Komyoung of Maetaman Elephant Camp and E.L.E. (Elephant Life Experience)

My assistant Chaiwat and I traveled around to some of the elephant camps last week to see how they were fairing in the economic downturn AND of course to stock up on elephant paintings for the up-coming holiday season.

We didn't find much new in the way of designs but we did find advanced use of colors and at Maetaman, they have gone "green" setting up a small factory that produces elephant dung paper for their Elephant Artists to paint on.

What was unusual, at the Ayuthaya Royal Elephant Kraal, which used to have their elephant paintings on dung paper, have gone back to using regular poster board. Apparently the Australian Agricultural Department has not cleared dung paper for import and most of the guests to the Ayuthaya Kraal are from Australia.

Another interesting note, back in August 2009 a team shooting for National Geographic was at Maetaman doing a special on Elephant Artist Hong painting her self-portraits. The special has yet to air on the National Geographic Channel but you can be sure when it does, it will spark a renewed interest in Hong's paintings (of which we have several in stock).

We have had to increase our prices slightly to meet international market demand on the Hong paintings however we are still less expensive then elsewhere on-line. However, the Hong paintings still appreciate in value.

Overall traffic is down a bit at the camps - a result of fewer tourists traveling becasue of the recession but overall we are told business is not that bad.

Which, as you can see from the short video below is good - since it only takes banas to run an elephant camp.

Visit us at www.Elephant-Paintings.com

OH, so that is what that Email was

2009-10-18T03:18:00.000-07:00

Back in July I received an email from Anchalee Kalmapijit with a short "blurb" and three pictures of a two basketball teams from Montfort College. I noticed that Khun Anchalee was the president of the Club but she is best known for her elephant care than for her basketball ability.

However, when speaking with Ms. Nopawan Komyoung, Secretary of the Montfort College Basketball Club at the Maetaman Elephant Camp last week, it all became clear, Khun Anchalee's son plays on the team which had just won top honors in the Thailand Northern Region "Sponsor Thailand Championship 2009", held 14-22 July.

The Montford team represented the Northern Region at the Thailand National Championship in Bangkok in September 2009. No word on who one that championship.

Word is that the Montfort cheerleading team picked up the Best Creative Award back in July as well.

Now I wonder of Khun Anchalee had her elephants out there cheering.....hmmmmm!!!

Nick Cassavetes sues over Elephant Orphanage

2009-09-06T01:21:00.000-07:00

A nasty little lawsuit filed by director Nick Cassavetes, accuses New Line Cinema of fraud and breach of contract, saying the studio fired him from directing the elephant orphanage drama, "Peaceable Kingdom." According to Variety's Dave McNary, the director filed suit earlier this week in Los Angeles Superior Court, saying he was never paid for a rewrite he did of the script. He's also seeking damages for other work he says he passed up while working on "Kingdom."

New Line got involved in "Peaceable Kingdom" after "60 Minutes" aired a report in April 2006 by Bob Simon about Dame Daphne Sheldrick, a Kenyan-born woman who has devoted her life to helping raise and rehabilitate orphaned wild animals, in particular elephants.

The "60 Minutes" piece follows:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Elephants Plowing Paddy Fields - Carrying On An Ancient Karen Tribe Tradition

2009-08-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

Chiang Mai, Thailand August 5, 2009 – On the 8^th day of the 8^th month on an 8 rai paddy field at Baan Saen Doi Resort and Spa, utilizing 8 elephants, members of the Karen Tribe of Ban Na Kian, Om Koi District, Chiang Mai will carry-on an ancient tradition of "Elephants Plowing Paddy Fields".

Ms. Wanphen Sakdatorn, owner of Baan Saen Doi Resort & Spa and Saen Kham Terrace Restaurant, and her husband Mr. Hagen Dirksen, German Honorary Consul for Northern Thailand, explained the practice of using elephants to plow fields is not well known to the outside world because Ban Na Kian village is situated on a mountain, almost 1,200 – 1,600 meters (3947 - 5249 feet) above sea level.

The Om Koi district itself is 179 kilometers (111 miles) away from Chiang Mai City with Ban Na Kian village 39 kilometers away from Om Koi town. It takes almost 3 hours to travel from Om Koi town to Ban Na Kian village.

The area is needy, and the road difficult to travel. Thus, villagers hang on to traditional farming methods. They plant rice on terrace fields and cultivate annual crops for a living. Terrain is limited as it is a slope area at the foot of a mountain where the soil is heavily mixed with rocks, which easily exhaust the paddy fields’ plowing water buffaloes.

The approximately 100 households of over 500 Karen villagers takes care of over 20 elephants setting them free to feed themselves in the nearby jungles. When the rice planting season is near, they recapture

their elephants from the jungles and use them to plow the paddy fields because elephants are much bigger and far stronger than oxen and water buffaloes.

Elephants can plow more paddy fields than oxen and water buffaloes in a lesser amount of time, and they do not need to stop to rest because plowing a paddy field is considered a piece of cake for elephants compared to their routine hard work of pulling big logs in the forest.

The Karen villagers favor plowing the paddy fields by means of “unity farming” where everyone helps each other until everybody’s paddy fields are plowed. However, lately modern technologies are being gradually introduced into the area. Today’s plowing machines play an important role, which results in less usage of elephants.

However, continually rising fuel costs have driven the villagers back to using elephants to plow the paddy fields once again.

The August 8, 2009 function will be presided over by Mr. Pranai Suwanrath, Director of the Southern Provinces’ Administration Center, former District Officer (1989) of Om Koi District.

Providing elephants for the event is Mrs. Anchalee Kalmaphichit, Manager of the E.L.E Elephant Camp (Elephant Life Experience), Maetaman, Chiang Mai. An elephant painting demonstration will be held after the traditional ceremony.

Pictures from the 2009 event can be found here.

Help Save Natalie

2009-07-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Prakochaban Foundation is currently raising funds to buy Natalie, a young elephant that has killed a number of people.

The Royal Elephant Kraal, is the only place that specializes in dealing with dangerous and killer elephants. We have experienced mahouts (elephant handlers) and the expertise to deal with elephants that are very dangerous or have killed people. We can ensure that Natalie will be rehabilitated and retrained to live a life that will be safe and secure with people who will give her the highest standard of care.

For more information or to donate go here

Please help save Natalie

We appreciate your help

Want to Adopt a Thai Elephant

2009-07-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

Visit this link and find out how to adopt a Thai elephant rescued from the streets of Bangkok.

National Geographic films famous Elephant Artist "Hong"

2009-06-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

In July 2008, a team from National Geographic traveled to Maetaman Elephant Camp in Northern Thailand to film elephant painting by Elephant Artist 'Hong' and Noi (her mahout/handler). The program was aired on 3 May 2009 on the National Geographic Channel in the USA.

"Mini" situation

2008-12-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

My colleague and I traveled to the elephant camp that supplies us with the "mini" elephant paintings on cotton bags this weekend. To our chagrin, the price on the bags was increased AND while the painting on the bags was in fact created by an Elephant, the picture supplied with each bag was not genuine but posed.

Because we could not certify authenticity of the Elephant Artist and due to the price increase which no longer makes it a "bargain" - we did not acquire any bags.

I'm sorry to say, we only have one or two minis left in stock for the holiday season this year.

Season's Greetings!

2008-11-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

To thank all our customers, we will be sending you a special New Year's gift a 2009 PAINTING ELEPHANT CALENDAR POSTCARD exclusively produced for Elephant-Paintings.com.

If you purchased from us, and you do not receive your card in the mail by mid December, please contact us.

Special Promotion: Elephant Painting Grand Sale - from Dec 7 -29th - 15% off everything. Go to www.elephant-paintings.com now!

Beijing Olympics 2008 - Even the Elephants Get Into the Act

2008-09-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

We're excited!

Back in June, the Maesa Elephant Camp, in cooperation with the City of Chiang Mai Government, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Foreign Ministry, presented the City of Beijing paintings depicting different aspects of the Olympics painted by elephant artists from the Maesa Camp.

Documentation of this special event seen above as posted at the Maesa Elephant Camp.

Subsequently, the paintings were put on public display in Beijing for not only Chinese visitors but all visitors to the 2008 Olympics to see.

Click this link to read about the Gallery showing as presented by Chinese CCTV.

Follow this link to view a short video (click on the video window) presented by CCTV on the Olympic elephant painting exhibition.

Now Elephant-Paintings.com is pleased to announce acquisition and sale of two of these Elephant Art Olympic Paintings.

Olympic Boxing by Elephant Artist Kong Kam

Olympic Running Events by Elephant Artist Kong Kam

Yes, really both pictures were painted by Elephant Artist Kong Kam!

These are very rare, special edition paintings - NOT part of the Beijing exhibition but probably done in preparation for the final paintings sent to China.

Visit us at www.elephant-paintings.com for more information about these great paintings.

Elephant Life Experience News

2008-09-08T05:45:00.000-07:00

E.L.E Holds First Elephant Art Exhibition in Europe

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Chiang Mai, Thailand: The first Elephant Art exhibition to be held in Europe will be held at the Hilton Prague, Czech Republic, September 18-28 2008. Acrylic on canvas paintings by three elephant artists from Elephant Life Experience (E.L.E.) Maetaman Valley, Chiang Mai, Thailand will be on display. The paintings were done under direction of ELE’s artistic director Mr. Cholasinth Chorsakul.

The Exhibition is organized by the Royal Thai Embassy in the Czech Republic and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

E.L.E. is Northern Thailand’s newest educational and most enlivening environmental attraction which allows humans and elephants to interact in the beautiful natural surroundings of Chiang Mai’s mountains.

การจัดงานศิลปะจากปลายงวงช้างครั้งแรกในทวีปยุโรป
ขอเชิญชมนิทรรศการภาพวาดศิลปะจากปลายงวงของช้างจำนวน 3 เชือกของปางช้างแอลลี่แม่ตะมาน เชียงใหม่ ในงานส่งเสริมการท่องเที่ยวและอาหารไทย ที่จะจัดขึ้นในระหว่างวันที่ 18 - 28 กันยายน 2551 ณ โรงแรมฮิลตัน กรุงปราก, ประเทศสาธารณรัฐเชค
ร่วมกันจัดงานโดยสถานเอกอัครราชทูตไทยประจำสาธารณรัฐเชคและการท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย

Korean Star visits New E.L.E. Camp

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Elephant Life Experience, (E.L.E.) Northern Thailand’s newest educational and most enlivening environmental attraction which allows humans and elephants to interact in the beautiful natural surroundings of Chiang Mai’s mountains, recently paid host to a photo shoot starring 30 year old popular Korean TV and movie star Mr. Koh Soo.

Organized by The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Chiang Mai and the Seoul, Korea office of TAT, the photo shoot was for the Korean edition of Men’s Health magazine. The Korean edition was established in March 2006, and now is the most popular health magazine for men and women in Korea. (100,000 issues / monthly).

Men’s Health will feature Koh Soo’s photos in a special section of the October issue promoting tourism of Chiang Mai.

E.L.E. is the newest project developed by long-time elephant conservationist Anchalee Kalmapijit.

สำนักงานการท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย ณ กรุงโซล ประเทศเกาหลีใต้ ร่วมกับสำนักงานททท.จังหวัดเชียงใหม่ ได้นำทีมผู้จัดทำหนังสือ Men's Health Magazine เดินทางมาถ่ายภาพดาราดังของเกาหลีที่มีชื่อว่า โก ซู ยังสถานที่อันสวยงามของจังหวัดเชียงใหม่ ภายใต้คอนเซ็ปต์แบบธรรมชาติ โดยได้เดินทางไปถ่ายภาพดาราและนายแบบ โก ซู ที่ ปางช้างแอลลี่ แม่ตะมาน ของ อัญชลี กัลมาพิจิตร เมื่อวันจันทร์ที่ 1 กันยายนที่ผ่านมา (แอลลี่เป็นหนึ่งในแหล่งท่องเที่ยวแนวธรรมชาติ) ทั้งนี้เพื่อร่วมประชาสัมพันธ์การท่องเที่ยวของจังหวัดเชียงใหม่

Go here to see a good article published in Thai Asia Today on E.L.E. and Anchalee.

Animated Elephant Videos

2008-08-31T02:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, thanks to friends at the Aydtthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, (whose elephant art work we have begun to feature on Elephant-Paintings.com) I was introduced to Millie Young, an animator, teacher illustrator.

Millie has spent a lot of time in various elephant camps around Thailand and tells her stories of times with the elephants through both animation and video.

As director of the Phuket Film Festival which will be held in June 2009 (http://www.phuketfilmfestival.asia/) we will feature some of Millie's animated elephant works as well as hold a workshop on animation, focusing on elephant and environmental awareness.

We attach some of her previous elephant animationo for your enjoyment.

The above called "Chang" a 4 minute animation about elephants using elephant paintings and and music by the Thai Elephant Orchestra.

This one called "Mere Wife", a 10 1/2 min animation about a Karen mahout, his elephant and his wife. The story is based on a traditional tale from the Karen Hill tribe mixed with real stories. It is a 2D cut out animation made from elephant dung paper!

ENJOY!

Admirers of Elephant Paintings BEWARE!

2008-08-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

As I graze the Internet, I am increasingly chagrined at the number of elephant painting offerings which are questionably authentic.

Offerings on re-seller sites and on auction sites such as E-Bay lack some obvious signs of authenticity.

1. All elephant camps place a "stamp" of either the camp name and/or the elephant artist's name on the painting IN PLAIN VIEW. If not buying paintings "off the rack", camps (Maesa/Maetaman/Lampang) ask where you would like the stamp.

On some paintings I have seen on E-Bay, stamp is placed way off to the left - half off the painting itself. - Strange positioning!

Also, some re-sellers are having the stamp placed on the BACK of the paintings. Why are they doing that? You should want that stamp in plain view so your friends and neighbors when admiring the painting see right away it is an authentic elephant painting (most will not believe it is painted by an elephant anyway...but it helps to convince them by showing them the stamp).

Small caveat here - there seem to be some nice paintings coming out of a camp in Ayutthaya which we have not purchased from, so we do not know about their stamping policy.

2. As more and more sellers of elephant art come "on line" prices of paintings seem to be dropping. That is not necessarily a bad thing for new time buyers BUT when prices are listed below purchase price (as some are) we have to ask why and how.

They can not be authentic paintings!

Original purchase price is hard to discern by the average buyer, but shop around, ask questions.

If there is still question after speaking with several re-sellers - DON'T BUY!

3. Some on-line shops have begun to sell copies of elephant art. They ARE labeling the paintings as copies but really, $250+ for a copy of an art print? I wouldn't pay that money for a COPY of anything. Some buyers are a little "slow" and don't pick up on the fact what is being offered is a copy - they buy it and think it is the real deal.

Wake up and smell the coffee folks.

4. The latest "sales gimmick" is selling elephant paintings on elephant dung paper. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing - it certainly has "green" appeal BUT not all paintings look good painted on "grainy" elephant dung paper.

Some do look fantastic but it is VERY difficult to tell from pictures posted on-line. Ask the re-seller to send you a large (300 dpi) digital photo of the painting so you can really see how the painting looks.

And while we encourage purchase of elephant dung paper products and wrapping paper - make sure the painting you are spending a lot of money on is accentuated by the darker rough surface of the painting.

Speaking of elephant dung products - having your seller send you an elephant painting that you just spent a lot of money on in an elephant dung tube is not a wise idea. Have you ever watched the way a courier service (Fed-Ex or the like) or the US Post Office handle packages? I have seen, handled and tried to use those shipping tubes. NOT a good idea!

Ask that your painting be shipped in a hard board shipping tube so it arrives safe and sound.

5. I am also a bit upset that re-sellers have brought the concept of elephant art down a notch.

Not all elephants paint. Elephants all have different personalities and talents (like humans). Some elephant artists are better than others and buyers are failing to learn or care who painted what - it is painted by an elephant - OK that's cool, I'll pay $300 - $400 - $500 or more for it.

Folks it is important to study background of each elephant artist, who its original teachers were.

Now-a-days the elephant handlers (mahouts) are teaching the elephants directly which is OK - but where did the mahouts learn. In the early days of elephant painting, art teachers were brought in to train the mahouts AND the elephant artists.

Any art student knows it is important to have on-going training in method and style.

A customer asked me the other day if we have sold to elephant art "collectors". I asked what was meant by that, people that have bought more than one painting? Purchased over $3,000 worth of paintings? Purchased for commercial establishments? The answer was, of course, we have.

BUT, no one of our buyers has ever said, 'Keep an eye-out for anything new by elephant artists Wanpen (Maesa) or Boonmee (Maetaman) or Kaew (Lampang)", all for example.

Art certainly is in the eye of the beholder however if elephant art is going to be a sustainable industry, if re-sellers hope to sell art work at higher and higher prices as the art appreciates in value, (and buyers have confidence that the art piece they are buying WILL appreciate) then we must educate our customer.

The business of elephant art needs to take that next evolutionary step.

There is no room in the market place for re-sellers of elephant art that are ripping off the public!

So BUYER BEWARE!

What can you do to make sure you are buying an authentic elephant painting.

1. Communicate with the seller and ask questions. We at elephant-paintings.com love to talk with our customers and help educate them about elephant paintings and the elephant artists. If you can not contact a re-seller or if you get "canned" answers - beware of buying from them.

We at elephant-paintings.com enjoy selling elephant art because not only do we enjoy the time spent with the elephant artists but we love working with people/talking with people/helping create a sustainable market which reflects the talent and spirit of creatures who we humans share space with on this Earth.

2. Be careful of sellers that use emotion in selling elephant art. Yes, a portion of all proceeds goes to up keep of elephant artists BUT prominent elephant artists live in lush elephant camps where they are well cared for. They don't paint for their meals (even though I think the idea of sweatshops set up with elephants churning out paintings that sell at Wall Mart is pretty amusing).

The sale of elephant art by re-sellers is purely a commercial venture. Money generated and given to the camps is but a small fraction of what is spent on the upkeep of the elephant.

I ran across a re-seller who is promising to give all elephant art proceeds to sponsor a child to go to school in the USA. Well, no comment on the merit of that offer but what does elephant art have to do with sending a kid to the USA to school (which is a very complicated process unto itself). Why couple the emotional "sale" with the physical sale?

"Hey folks, you like this art work by elephant artist Kong Kum?" Buy it! Full Stop!

3. Asking for certificates of authenticity does not help because the elephant camps DO NOT provide them. And the camps are the source.

As I told a customer the other day, a piece of paper is a piece of paper is a piece of paper - anyone can print out anything. They want a certificate - we can give them one. We are honest merchants here with a slew of customers that can vouch for us - but others that might offer that piece of paper, do they have the same credentials?

If you have any question about elephant art, please feel free to contact us at elephant.paintings@gmail.com

And check back often as we continue to bring you the latest on "trunk art".

Painting Giants - Update July 2008

2008-07-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

Scott Rosenberg hugging Elephant Artist Boonmee before he slapped me in the face with his floppy ear.

I could almost hear him say "Fresh!"

July, 2008

It has been about two years since I last wrote of elephant art, then an emerging art “tangent” with a developing niche market.

So where are we today, ten years since pachyderm picked up brush in trunk?

Have the painting giants really moved on to impressionism, surrealism, and conceptual art as was suggested they would do? Have sweatshops of painting elephants sprung up across SE Asia churning out elephant art on tee-shirts, curtains and other goods for sale at K-Mart and other wholesale giants?

Or has elephant art truly become an art collectible with a viable resale market?

First, before we revisit a bit of elephant painting history lets establish one fact:

Elephants Do Paint!

A viral “explosion” in interest in elephant painting this past March/April precipitated by a YouTube posting of Elephant Artist Hong at Maetaman Elephant Camp painting a “self portrait” brought out a myriad of doubters.

Across the Net websites screamed with naysayers despite the occasional posting of someone that has actually seen the majestic creatures create their art.
But let’s re-examine how it was that elephants came to pick up brush in trunk, maybe then those that do not believe will have a change of heart.

When Russian artists Komar & Melamid arrived in Thailand with brush and easel in hand almost exactly one decade ago, little did they realize they would find as receptive an audience as the SE Asian Elephant.

After all, Ruby, a SE Asian elephant was painting at the Phoenix Zoo back in 1974, what would be so strange about teaching others?

Thanks to interested parties at the government run Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang and the privately owned Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai (run by the Kalmapijit family), elephants long out of work in the timber forests of Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), eeking out a living performing before tourists flocking into the expanding tourist destination of Thailand, had a new release for their creative talent.

Since that time, several other elephant camps have invested resources into painting pachyderm programs: the Maetaman Elephant Camp (run by another "branch" of the Kalmapijit family), and the Ayutthaya Royal Elephant Kraal and Village both have talented elephant artists.

Komar & Melamid (at Lampang), Chinese/ Thai artist Chaowalit Sae Jern and then Thai elementary school art teacher Tossapol Petcharattanakool (at Maesa) worked initially with the elephant handlers (mahouts) and then with the handlers and the elephants together, to first teach them how to hold a brush and then put brush to paper. Mahouts had to learn blending of colors and the whys and hows of layering paint (which they then had to communicate to the elephant artist) while the elephant had to learn control over brush stroke and basic lines and shapes.

According to the Mahouts, it could take as long as one year to teach a budding new elephant artist to paint well (Mahout interview).

Mind you, not all elephants want to paint, some can not stay focused and would rather chew on the paint brush and slurp the (tasty?) paint.

But some elephants truly have a “mind of their own” and a creative energy – they enjoy learning and performing. Theirs is not a solo performance, however.

And this is what the naysayers need to understand, the process of learning is shared between mahout and elephant with the actual creation of the art piece very much an elephant operation.

Mia Fineman, an art historian who has written on Asian Elephant Art, points out, “The paintings are collaborations, a way of communicating between the animal and humans. The mahouts frequently choose the colors, and the elephants apply the strokes. The elephants quickly master the fundamental techniques of painting, and also develop distinctive sensibilities and styles."

These footnotes aside, where are we ten years later?

I’m a bit chagrined to say that we have not moved very far along the evolutionary (art) trail.

Elephants like Wanpen (Maesa), Boonmee(Maetaman), Wangping (Maetaman), Kong Kom (Maesa) paint flowers which look like they were picked straight from the fields of the elephant camps. Thongsa (Maesa) has even developed a comic style to the sunflowers he paints.

But even so, there is little progression in art form. Wanpen’s “Rose” looks today, as it did two/three years ago.

The “realistic “self portrait” created by Elephant Artist Hong, while an interesting depiction of an elephant is but a systematic series of lines “memorized” (learned) and put to paper by the elephant.

Even though it is extremely rare in the animal kingdom (only found in monkeys and dolphins) one can argue, in fact, elephants do have mirror self-recognition (MSR - Joshua M. Plotnik, Frans B. M. de Waal and Diana Reiss article).

So Hong and other elephants beginning to paint “themselves” is not so far fetched.

What has always vexed me is color. How does the elephant artist know that grass is green and flowers are red or yellow or blue?

Some studies have shown that in the wild, elephants do react negatively to colors of various African warriors that prey on them. But those studies also show that the elephant is very sensitive (and reacts negatively) to the scent of the warriors – why they react negatively to colors of clothing not worn by the disliked warriors (in this case there was no scent - the color was red) has not been explained.

While use of colors still has me confused, I accept the explanation of the mahouts that they teach the elephant painters where the various colors go and if an elephant “forgets” in execution of his painting, they remind them with a word or two.

On Elephant-Paintings.com, we acquired (and have since sold) a painting entitled “Elephant’s Home – The Forest” by Elephant Artist Kong Kum. This painting is a magnificent realistic painting of a forest albeit a bit abstract, with black stick figure lines between the trees which either represented humans or other elephants.

Two years ago, this conceptual impressionistic painting was the evolutionary direction I had hoped elephant painters were moving but alas, it seems the painters have strayed.

Maybe it is because the mahouts themselves have taken up the task of teaching their elephants how to paint – the mahouts skills limited to teaching basics and possibly expanding a bit from that.

It may sound funny but they are not teaching their elephants how to think, how to express themselves how to expand their minds and in turn put those impressions to paper. They are teaching them by route-learning – very much the way that education is practiced here in Thailand (but it remains to be seen how many of the mahouts themselves have completed a traditional education and learned the same way).

What is interesting is a new concept in elephant-human interaction fostered by Anchalee Kalmapijit who was responsible for building interest in elephant art when she was at Maesa and is now doing the same at Maetaman and a new elephant enclave called Elephant Life Experience (E.L.E.).

Anchalee’s concept is to provide a rustic/luxurious living space in the middle of the jungle where elephant and human alike can romp and interact.

Want to bathe with an elephant – a beautiful river runs through the enclave where you and your new elephant friend can play for hours.

Want to impress a loved one with a candle lit romantic fine dining experience set in a completely natural surrounding with an elephant orchestra playing in the background (YES, elephants play instruments too) or just with the natural "music" of the forest - E.L.E can arrange it.

Or, do you want to paint with your new friend – E.L.E. is already fostering collaborative art with human – elephant paintings decorating the walls of the welcome lounge area.

E.L.E’s idea is to expand human – elephant contact, human – elephant consciousness, if you will.

Elephant Artists Hong, Boonmee, Haad, Somjai, Khamtool and others, some of Maetaman’s most talented painters “hang out” at E.L.E. when humans book time at the enclave.

Anchalee who has spent her life in the business of caring for elephants may be on to something with E.L.E. not only offering humans an opportunity to live out their dreams with elephants but allowing the elephants an opportunity to interact one-on-one with a variety of humans so they can learn to think "outside the box" – something that is not happening in their interaction with the mahouts.

Maybe this interaction will allow the elephant artists to take the next step – conceptional art.

In other developments, thanks to the awareness raised through the YouTube posting, elephant paintings have gotten into the hands of more people that appreciate the art.

Popularity of the art has caused a few resellers to raise prices (at Elephant-Paintings.com we had to slightly raise prices, more as a result of the depreciation of the US dollar and rising costs of shipping and handling).

However, in one instance the same company that posted Hong’s self portrait video on YouTube has begun to sell reproductions of elephant art work which does not help the market. Consumers are not yet educated enough to understand the true worth of an elephant painting acquisition and think the $250 - $300 spent on a copy is not only helping the elephants but like a true collectible, will gain worth as time goes on.

Moral of that story is, buyer beware!

As for elephant art on tee-shirts, yes it exists.

Elephant Artist Boonmee "Painting on Tee"

In 2007, seven elephant artists at the Maetaman Elephant Camp including Haad, Hong, Libby, Somjai, Somboon, Boombim and Jab and their art teacher, Tossapol Petchrattanakool, in cooperation with the Salah Lanna Club, began painting on textiles.

The idea was to tailor elephant art into clothes and other fashionable items such as scarves, bags, and pillows and even window curtains, but to this point in time, according to workers at Maetaman, the project has not gained much momentum.

While Elephant-Paintings.com has a few elephant art tee-shirts on sale, quite frankly, as a novelty, it is a great gift but I wonder about throwing a $100 piece of clothing into the washing machine; even though the people at the Camp have assured me it is possible to do. Dry clean a tee-shirt, well maybe.

For the child that has a concern for the environment and an affinity for all creatures large and small – most definitely a must have unique product.

So that closes this update. We follow closely the evolution and valuation of elephant art and welcome questions any time. You can reach us here.

As we have said before, the future of elephant art belongs to these gentle giants!

Painting Giants

2008-03-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, these two pictures were painted 100% by Elephant Artists

A painting often conveys the inner thoughts and feelings of the artist, messages sometimes of deep personal importance. But what if the artist is an elephant? Do they draw subjects from memory? Are they expressing something meaningful in color choice and composition? Is the final product art or just the result of random brush strokes?

Painting pachyderms have been on public display several times in the 20th century alone - in a 1930s circus in Berlin; in the 1970s and 1980s at the Phoenix Zoo, (probably the most famous Elephant Artist was Ruby at the Phoenix Zoo who raised nearly $100,000 a year through sales of her paintings- she passed away in 1998), and beginning in the late 90’s painting elephants could be found in zoos from Quitman, Arkansas to Toledo Ohio.

In fact presently, die-hard enthusiasts can book an elephant painting “encounter” ($190 per person-2 person minimum) at the Los Angeles Zoo, which includes the abstract painting.

“For many years, zookeepers have known that elephants both in captivity and in the wild will pick up sticks and doodle in the dirt," says Mia Fineman, an art historian from New York and co-author of the book 'When Elephants Paint'. "Elephants are highly intelligent animals who don't particularly like to stand around all day.”

However, no where is the skill of these giants so honed as in Thailand where along with other village made products export under the government supported One Tamboon One Product (OTOP) project, elephant paintings are becoming a valuable “Made in Thailand” export. (Ironically, the Thai Government will not classify elephant art as an OTOP product as it is created by an animal – not a human).

In SE Asia, people are exposed to elephants on almost a daily basis. These gentle, intelligent creatures no longer work in the logging industry and sadly are treated quite poorly, despite the fact that in Thailand anyway, they have near human status (domesticated elephants are registered and given a name at 7 years old).

After working with an elephant called Renee at the Toledo, Ohio Zoo in 1995, two eccentric Russian emigrant artists named Komar & Melamid developed a method of teaching elephants to paint. From this they helped form the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) at the Lamphang National Elephant Camp in northern Thailand.

In 1999 Komar & Melamid expanded their teachings to the Elephant Safari in Bali, Indonesia where works from some of their 17 Sumatran elephants were sold at the Bali Four Seasons Hotel, Millennium Art Show in conjunction with New York based Mimi Ferzt Gallery. Additional works were sold at the AEACP's benefit auction which was held at Christie's in New York.

At the privately owned Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai where owner Choochart Kalmapijit and his daughter Anchalee were also teaching their elephants to paint, they noticed something very familiar in the early drawings of some of the camp elephants: the scrawlings had a distinct Chinese minimalist character to them.

A famous Thai-Chinese art professor and artist Chaowalit Sae Jern was invited to visit Maesa and work with the elephants and their mahouts (handlers). There he spent hours training the young bulls and cows a more realistic landscape and floral art style than the early abstract Komar & Melamid taught elephants.

“Teaching an elephant to paint is like teaching a young child,” says Tossapol Petcharattanakool, an art instructor at Maesa and professionally trained as an elementary school art teacher. "They have a sense of form and style and can learn positioning of lines. But while the elephant IS the painter, there is definitely communication, collaboration between mahout and elephant.”

Up until this point, funds raised from sale of elephant paintings benefited various conservation projects and other charities. Private collectors looked at elephant paintings as mere novelties as opposed to serious art.

Now, they are seen as major collectables, the 2006 Emmy Awards chose Elephant Paintings as a product to include in Gift Bags given to winners and presenters at the Awards.

With more and more elephant art becoming available from internet on-line galleries such as http://www.elephant-paintings.com/ elephant paintings are receiving more serious attention by collectors, especially in a market where, according to New York Times art journalist Richard Porter, “Art prices are setting records..”.

In fact, it has been said that elephant painting is gaining momentum as the latest breakthrough in Outsider Art.

Mia Fineman commented, “As painters, elephants are masters of the rapidly executed, spontaneous gesture, and their canvases often recall the exuberant physicality of Abstract Expressionism. 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. Indeed, elephant painting is the ultimate Outsider Art, reinvigorating a moribund art scene and resolving the fin-de-siecle crisis in painting with a bold and uninhibited return to gestural abstraction.”

The question remains how does one value this unique elephant art collectable?

With Internet elephant art pieces ranging from US $69 abstractions to realistic flower paintings over $550 with recent takings in the thousands at charity auctions of elephant works (Fort Worth, Texas’ Elephant Artist Rasha fetching $7,000 for Red Cross Tsunami Relief and a Guinness Book of World Records mural painting by eight elephants at Maesa bringing in over $38,400), the one sure thing is, elephant painting prices are on the rise!

One positive aspect says Dana Mitchell, a director of paintings at Sotheby’s, “We have more collectors today willing to spend more money than we’ve ever had.” Adding to that is David Galenson, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago who has been using the price of artworks at auction to study patterns of creativity. His findings include useful insights into what makes art valuable. He claims “Abstract Expressionist work might be better bought old.”

Of course, Elephant Art has its detractors.

When elephant art first got its boost into the market from the work of Komar & Melamid in the late 1990’s, art critics found it difficult to conceptionalize where the elephant artist, as an animal, was coming from.

According to Wimsatt and Beardsley, a poem succeeds, in part, by supplying readers with the means to construct an appropriate “speaker.”

Presumably, a successful painting does something equivalent, encouraging the viewer to extrapolate from the painted image another, less tangible one: the painter, who plausibly, painted the particular painting.

However, humans find it difficult to empathize with an animal. We have no idea what elephants are doing— no idea of what they intend to do—when they take brush in trunk and make marks on paper or canvas. The resulting stylistic resemblances give us no idea of what the elephants are up to when they paint, or what their paintings mean.

But even with interpretation of a human’s painting, one is never sure of being right. In fact, it is impossible to be right or wrong about the meanings of art or the intentions of artists.
The age-old questions of who is an artist? What is serious art? And what is the role of art in contemporary society are questions central to the future of art in 21st century culture.

So, where does elephant art fit in?

When Komar and Melamid first set up the Elephant Art & Conservation Project, Melamid said, “We want to cover the world with these academies, to have thousands of elephants making art every day. This is our dream, to have the output of elephant art be as voluminous as the output of human art.”

Legions of unemployed elephants producing art work on production lines would surely raise hackles of human artists all over the world, who as it is, find it hard to eek out a living.

One thing is sure, the present abstraction of most elephant art may only be the first phase in the stylistic evolution of pachyderm painting. Perhaps one day soon we might see the development of Elephant Impressionism, Elephant Surrealism, even Elephant Conceptual Art.
After all, the landscape and flower painting elephants at Maesa are already on the next step of the evolutionary trail.

The future belongs to these gentle giants.

‘Excusez-moi, Madame, je suis “homo”’

2008-03-09T03:05:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying that one of the most interesting men in the world that I know is HM The King Father of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk.

Besides being a great historical figure, HM is a humanitarian and best of all a filmmaker.

HM's short film ‘Excusez-moi, Madame, je suis “homo”’ was produced in 2007 with little fanfare. Part of HM's "inner-circle", I received a copy and immediately wrote a review which you will find below.

Movie Review
‘Excusez-moi, Madame, je suis “homo”’
(‘Excuse me Madame, I am gay’)

A short film
Produced by Khemara Pictures
Screenplay by: HM the King Father of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk
Executive Producer: HE Senator Ieu Pannakar
Director: HE Mr. Kong Sam Ol
Assistant Director: HE Ambassador Khek Sysoda
Cinematographer: Excellency Prum Mesa
Cast: Mr. Eng Rithy (Rene); Ms. Chhay Sovannary (the widow); Mr. Horm Phanith (Robert)
21 minutes
Color/ digital HD
Khmer language

Throughout the ages, most Royal families have been artistic – it seems to run in the blood. Whether through music, dance, painting or film, Royals have contributed to and sometimes driven the development of culture and heritage in their respective nations.

The small developing nation of Cambodia is no exception. HM the King Father of the nation, Norodom Sihanouk has written/produced/directed over 40 feature films and direct to video/DVD film vignettes, as well as scored music for the films and written numerous musical compositions. In earlier days, HM also played leading roles in some of his films along with his beloved wife HM the Queen Mother of Cambodia, Monineath Sihanouk

Their son, the King of Cambodia, HM Norodom Sihamoni is an accomplished ballet dancer/teacher while HRH Princess Norodom Bopha Devi, a world renowned expert on traditional Cambodian dance has helped train future generations to carry on this historical cultural icon.

So, it is not unusual for Norodom Sihanouk’s production company, Khemara Pictures to release short films like “Excuse-moi.”

What is unusual in this short film set in modern day Cambodia – which looks very much like the Cambodia in an earlier, happier era during the late 1950’s – early 1960’s, is the gentle manner the filmmakers touch on some of today’s most poignant topics.

It is nothing short of genius – a gem of a film!

The film opens with stunning shots of the ancient ruins of Angkor temples (classic Norodom Sihanouk) – enhanced by the cinematography of Prum Mesa.

Asuras and Devas stare down at us while 1,000-year-old Apsaras dance across the stonewalls of the temples, as menacing stone reliefs of ancient king’s armies, frozen in time, do battle.

A happy young Cambodian couple climb the well trod steps of an historic temple with throngs of tourists all around; one has to ask if the filmmakers are not trying to send a subtle message here. Tourism is good, it helps grow economies at the grass roots (seen are local people selling their home made wares). However, shouldn’t tourism be sustainable – must we not save/protect the great wonders of the world from the great number of people walking on/across, touching - ignoring the spirits of the past – not talking time to digest the history and culture the ruins represent?

Or maybe this reviewer reads too much into the movie. No, I think the message is clear.

As the couple walks through the Phimenakas, one can envision ghostly images of King Suryavarman II and his court – what a wonderful way two young people (in love?) can spend a day.

Cut to the streets of a small town in Cambodia at night and the interior of a restaurant –nostalgic ‘50’s setting with small combo playing Cambodian songs and young men and women line dancing, a “proper” version of the more raucous Texas line dance – a nice slice of Cambodian life and entertainment today.

Our couple slow dance, at one point, seemingly looking lovingly into each other’s eyes.

Cut to a hotel room, another man (Robert) apparently just out of the shower seems to look toward Rene, the man who we earlier observed enjoying the day with his woman friend.

Flash to Rene, sitting at a desk, (writing in his journal?), he looks toward Robert in the vestibule to the bathroom: Rene looks a bit worried.

Rene’s woman friend enters an ornate hotel and asks for his room number. She knocks on his door and Rene lets her in. They sit across from one another, she sipping orange juice, he coffee. Even though the dialogue is in Khmer, you can feel the (sexual?) tension.

The woman, we learn, is a widow, her husband, an American, killed in the war in Iraq (another message – war causes people to die – it is bad!).

As she cradles Rene’s hand in hers, she comes to the point, she is lonely and has fallen in love with Rene – will he marry her?

Rene responds frankly, “Madame, I too will come straight to the point: I am gay. This is my wife Monsieur Robert,” as Robert walks out of the bathroom in his robe.

What a twist! This has just become a tragic love affair!

One cannot but laugh, maybe a little bit out of embarrassment. What a wonderful open way of dealing with a very emotional topic.

And even though the widow leaves Rene’s room angrily yelling “Ah, these gays...what a curse to humanity,” we are left with one final message – accept people for who they are, no matter what their sexual orientation, religion or cultural background.

‘Excuse me Madame, I am gay:’ A slice of present day Cambodian life and culture with a lesson about human existence brought to us by a filmmaker who happens to be King.

Note:

“Excuse-moi” was aired on Cambodian government run TVK TV on March 13, 2007 with no complaints from the general population according to Khieu Pannasidah, undersecretary of state at the Cambodian Information Ministry.

To charges that the film was “homophobic,” HM the King Father, Norodom Sihanouk said in a statement: “As far as the short-film ‘Excuse-moi, Madame, juis suis ‘homo’,’ is concerned, this short-film is a pure comedy dedicated to … friends and compatriots capable of understanding a pure comedy without spitefulness or maliciousness.”

HM wants to make clear The King Father of Cambodia has the best relations with “”homos” inside and outside Cambodia.”

Watch this space for more information about HM The King Father of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk.