So i'm in an Art 1 class at my high school, and i'm a junior and the class is mainly made up of freshmen.
Our art teacher showed us a slide show about an elephant named bo-bo that could paint. It was taught to by striking the elephant with a stick ever since it was born. We held a discussion about wether bo-bo's paintings were art or not. Since there were mainly freshmen, you can guess it was hardly a conversation and more of a who can talk the loudest competition. They were more interested on the subject of animal abuse, calling the paintings "forced art", and it was a big part of the discussion, but nothing else was discussed. After the discussion, our teacher explained that it was not art because it wasn't man-made, and that the elephant didn't know what it was painting, therefore it didn't express it's feelings or emotions. I personaly thought it was art because i considered it to be art. If it's not art, then how would photography and landscape be considered art? If it's nature creating the art, how would it be able to express it's feelings? When i look at a photo of a landscape, i don't think to myself, "wow, that photographer really expressed his feelings through that landscape", no i think," wow, look at that. look how beautiful nature is". It's not man made. it might express emotion and feelings to some people.

my point is, i think anything can and could be considered art wether it be a star or the stuff in my toilet, and we shouldn't limit the definition of art to man-made.

What do you think?
Is my art teacher right, or is he wrong?
are bo-bo's paintings art?
What is or should be the definition of art?

Well, first, photographers do express their feelings through their photos.

And second... There is no consistent definition of art. It's an absolutely pointless debate.

Your teacher is wrong. If s/he cannot see art in nature, without it being a picture, then she isn't looking hard enough.

I realized that after thinking about it a while earlier,
just put it in to see what would come up.

I wouldn't say pointless...

I've been to Thailand and seen it done multiple times. http://i.imgur.com/N6SXk.jpg It's art. Even if the elephant wasn't guided by man the whole time I'd still count it. To me if something purposefully arranged and is pretty, it's art. Though something purposefully arranged and not pretty (to me) is not necessarily discounted as art. And there are some things I'd classify as art but not art (like a kid's stick figure drawing vs. a pretty landscape - like the elephant did).

I'd probably count that photograph I took as art but not art. My intent wasn't to create something particularly pretty, creative, or emotional, it was to just capture a memory.

But really art is such a terrible word. We shouldn't even use it except to classify multiple different mediums. An art school or art class is really the only use for the word. The whole "is it art?" thing should just be removed. It's a painting! It's a sculpture! Blah blah blah! Much easier.

Art is created. Otherwise we could all go around staring at clouds, calling ourselves artists. Elephants painting, horses counting - this stuff is a gimmick. Your teacher is right.

Pointless debate is pointless. Art is art, go figure for yourself.

Because the artist or photographer is expressing his or her feelings and emotions.

Listen to your teacher. This is why you're in art class.

As an artist, I've come to a conclusion that everything is art. Michelangelo Sistine Chapel frescoes are as significant as the creation of the massive termite hives. The act of creation by a living thing is beyond wonder. Its a miracle.

It doesn't have to be "man-made" to be art. Art can be made by accident. Art is defined by the person viewing it, not by the person (or animal) (or thing!) that created it.

The elephants were trained, by man, to paint the canvas. That meets my definition for man made. The elephant was simply an instrument used.

There is an elephant at my local zoo that actually paints on its own and the portraits are sold for charity. That is still art, but not man made. Apes can be taught to use paints and they will do their own thing as well. Just because the pictures make little sense to us does not mean the creatures weren't trying to make something beautiful.