No Monkey Business Here: Austin Zoo Officials Sell Primate Art In Fundraising Effort

AUSTIN, TX — Monkeys are undoubtedly fun to watch, but the ones residing at the Austin Zoo offer more than mere simian antics. The capuchins, in particular, have stepped up in their entertainment value, offering original artwork as part of their offerings.

Yes, you read that correctly. Capuchin monkeys (and a lemur, too) are prolific watercolor artists, creating artwork now up for sale by zoo officials as part of a unique fundraiser. Capuchins are the type of monkey one sees displayed as organ grinders in old movies and cartoons, but the ones at the Austin Zoo are no organ grinders.

For $10 to $25, one can purchase primate art that, to the admittedly untrained eye, is actually pretty good. They are abstract representations, but impressive in their use of color, texture and use of perspective. The art is painted on a variety of media — canvas, construction paper and cardboard.

Each piece comes with the name of the simian artist and the date of its creation. The work of capuchin Rusty, for example, displays the monkey's exploration of various verdant hues painted in broad, bold strokes softened with pastel accents.

The work evokes a jungle thicket, perhaps drawn from Rusty's youthful memories or informed imaginings of the wet lowland forests of the Caribbean coast in Costa Rica or Panama of its relatives' origins. Or perhaps the inspiration is drawn by the deciduous dry forest along the Pacific coastline or the lush Argentinian landscape.

Yet as if sensing the sensory onslaught of the deep green, muscular streaks created with seeming abandon, Rusty complements the art with an interplay of seemingly incongruous yet somehow complementary shadings and accents of different hue — a spot of pink here, a streak of yellow there, a streak of aqua blue here — as if to convey the mystery and unpredictable nature of the native forest.

Lu and Katie, a pair of capuchins, prefer to work in tandem. Their work also evokes jungle-like terrain but utilizes a wider palette. Whereas Rusty prefers to express scenes with contrasting, monochromatic shades, Lu and Katie display a penchant for vibrant orange and blue colors produced in flower-like forms and shapes to complement the thicket-like green representations.

The monkeys are prolific artists, with various examples of their work featured on the Austin Zoo website. Their enthusiasm seems to be inspiring other zoo denizens, including Lele the lemur, with a decidedly different perspective seemingly seen through rose-colored glasses, conveying a joie de vivre.

As evidenced on the Austin Zoo's Facebook page, other creatures seem to be getting into the artistic act. Maddie, a coatimundi, is seen trying it hands, or rather paws, at artwork, although its works are not as yet available for purchase.

A photo on the zoo's Facebook page shows Lu and Katie's process, showing what appears to be an exchange of ideas being conveyed mid-painting.

As a reward for their work and the laughter they inspire with their non-painting activities, the capuchins are rewarded with treats. Among these are oatmeal-based goodies encrusted with assorted nuts and crunch biscuit dipped in honey. Not exactly an artistic commission or sponsorship, but the capuchins seem to find the arrangement just fine.

To purchase some of the artwork or to view the various offerings, click here.

>>> Photo via WikiMedia Commons