Art is a human making. Nature creates patterns and forms that may resemble art made by humans (or perhaps humans make art that resembles patterns in nature). But nature does not make art. Animals don’t make art. An elephant may spread paint on a canvas with its trunk, and the resulting “painting” may resemble a painting made by a human, but the elephant is not making art. You can cover your dog in paint and let it roll around on paper, but it’s not making art. In both of these examples, humans might be making art using animals as tools, but the animals are not making art.

Art is a human making. Nature creates patterns and forms that may resemble art made by humans (or perhaps humans make art that resembles patterns in nature). But nature does not make art. Animals don’t make art. An elephant may spread paint on a canvas with its trunk, and the resulting “painting” may resemble a painting made by a human, but the elephant is not making art. You can cover your dog in paint and let it roll around on paper, but it’s not making art. In both of these examples, humans might be making art using animals as tools, but the animals are not making art.

Some stuff I want to say about a gallery of pictures.