ZooMiami hosts Savage Art, an art show by ZooMiami animals

It’s not rare to look at the art hanging in a gallery and smugly think that your kid could have painted that. But have you ever seen a work of art and thought it could have been done by your pet? Or a wild animal, for that matter?

ZooMiami will host such an art show this Saturday; one where every item on display has been created, both intentionally and accidentally, by animals who live at ZooMiami.

How were the folks at ZooMiami able to get the animals to produce art work? Dr. Frank Ridgley, head of ZooMiami’s Conservation and Research Department, says it was a team effort.  “We’ve gotten some amazing pieces through the talents of the animals and the keepers’ inventiveness.”

There were two methods used to create the art. The first was simple: Give the animals a brush and paint. Elephants, for example, would grab the brushes in their trunks and entertain themselves splashing the non-toxic paint around the canvas or whatever surface they were given, like a few white mannequins from Bloomingdale’s. One of the tree kangaroos named Patty is particularly prolific; she will have two paintings on display.

Other animals produced art work in a more passive way, by walking through the paint and onto the canvas. One such painting is entitled Predator and Prey, where the small footprints of a bird are followed by the paws of one of the big cats.

The show will raise funds for the Zoo’s newly established Conservation and Research Department. Established last fall, the fledgling department has more than two dozen programs and projects in the works, including classifying a local bat species that may be on its way to endangered species classification, as well as assisting local wildlife in the area surrounding the zoo grounds.

The event will have food trucks, a live band, a DJ, raffles, a silent auction, and wild encounters with animals from Zoo Miami.  Also, the artists-in-residence at the hosting Bakehouse Art Complex will have their studios open so you can check out art work made by humans. 

It’s all in the name of charity, but you may be surprised at the quality of the art. “We’ve done different pieces of art with the animals through the years, but the works they’ve done for this show are far beyond what you’d expect,” assures Dr. Ridgley.  But, of course, that’s what any parent would say about their own kid’s art.

This story was originally published January 30, 2012 at 1:01 AM.