Over the course of the two years Morris worked with Congo, he became increasingly convinced that the young chimpanzee was creating compositions that demonstrated advanced aesthetic principles. He began comparing the drawings of the chimpanzee that Schiller had worked with, Alpha, to Congo’s experimental results, and he found that they shared certain characteristics: 1) drawings were mostly restricted to the sheet of paper; 2) there was a tendency to mark within figures; and, 3) there was a tendency to “balance” an offset figure.20
Experimental drawing by Alpha showing tendency to restrict markings to area of paper. From The Biology of Art, p. 61.
Experimental drawing by Alpha demonstrating markings in central confined area. From The Biology of Art, p. 61.
Experimental drawing by Alpha demonstrating compositional balance. From The Biology of Art, p. 61.
Morris concluded from these observations that the apes were demonstrating an innate sense of order and pattern.
20 Morris, p. 102.