To determine whether works created by animals are works of art, the concept of art should be defined. Arnold (2020) states that art is a field of human activity, encompassing the creative work of creating aesthetically significant objects – works of art. This idea contains the concept of a person; respectively, from this point of view, paintings created by animals do not belong to art. In turn, according to Harrison et al. (2020), art is one of the forms of social consciousness, an integral part of the spiritual culture of humanity, a specific kind of practical-spiritual development of the world. Russell (2020) gives a similar interpretation, characterizing art as the reproduction of reality in artistic images. Thus, all definitions converge on the fact that through art, the spiritual finds embodiment in the material and acquires value among the circle of people.
Leading ethologists and anthropologists worldwide are well aware of experiments involving animal creativity. Scientists have been arguing for decades about whether animals have abstract thinking and whether they can be aware of the creative process. According to Russell (2020), it is not physically possible for an animal to create a work of art, as modern science speaks of animals’ lack of creative consciousness. Animals are deprived of abstract thinking; that is, they cannot manipulate images, which is precisely what is necessary to create paintings. It is not art but amusement because animals do not put any meaning into their works. Therefore, the paintings created by animals are nothing but the result of training. Moreover, from a legal point of view, it is impossible to recognize the authorship of a work of art for animals since the civil legislation of most countries recognizes an animal as a thing.
References
Arnold, D. (2020). Art history: A very short introduction. OUP Oxford.
Harrison, C., Wainwright, L., & Wood, P. (2020). Art in theory: The West in the world – An anthology of changing ideas. Wiley.
Russell, J. (2020). The meanings of modern art. Routledge.