For Pet's Sake Column

Now I’ve heard it all. Earlier this month, British artist Banksy – who is known throughout the art community for his eccentric artwork and peculiar pranks – transformed a Los Angeles warehouse into an elaborately decorated living room, complete with furniture, chandelier, and ….. are you ready for this? A live elephant. And not just any elephant, ladies and gentleman; a brightly-painted, 38-year-old Indian elephant named Tai. The artist painted the pachyderm from trunk to tail with gold and red paint to match the walls of the living room. Literature, which was handed out at the exhibit explained the artist’s intention: “There’s an elephant in the room. There’s a problem we never talk about. The fact is that life isn’t getting any fairer … 20 billion people live below the poverty line.” A bold statement indeed. But, gee Banksy, do you think you could have made your point about poverty without using a 10,000 pound living, breathing animal? Might I suggest you craft a paper mache elephant next time?

Sorry if I seem a little upset, but I’m aware that elephants in the wild travel long distances every day with their herds. It’s demeaning and unnatural for them to be encased in tiny zoo enclosures, let alone stand virtually motionless in an art exhibit for days on end with people gawking at them.

Tai is an “employee” of a company called “Have Trunk Will Travel,” whose mission is “to provide the public with safe, educational and recreational access to the earth’s most wonderful mammal, the elephant.” Translation: We make money by exploiting elephants. Something tells me that Tai works for peanuts (literally and figuratively) and wouldn’t be able to file a worker’s comp claim if she became too ill to work.

I’m not the only one who has declared my dismay at the pachyderm’s plight. Animal rights activists and city officials alike have weighed in on this issue.

“This is another example of our exploitation of animals – so gimmicky and unnecessary,” stated Bill Dyer, a regional director for “In Defense of Animals,” a Mill Valley, California based animal rights organization. Ed Boks, the General Manager of the Los Angeles Animal Services Department, drew the line at painting pachyderms, calling the exhibit “a frivolous abuse of animals,” even though his agency issued the permit for the elephant’s appearance. Oops, better monitor the permit process a little closer next time, Ed. He later ordered the paint removed from Tai.

It all comes down to this: Where does art end and cruelty begin? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but for the record, I’m against any activity that uses animals for our entertainment and amusement. It’s time to give Banksy’s exhibit the brush-off.

Karen’s idea of art is putting on her makeup in the morning, so she really admires artists, especially those who don’t use animals in their exhibits. Share your artwork with Karen by emailing her at karenleestevens@cox.net.