A special artist—Pigcasso

images/BZ_29_188_1467_1995_1625.png

Many people know of Pablo Picasso,the Spanish artist who created some of the 20th century's most famous paintings.But few,until recently,have heard of“Pigcasso”.

Pigcasso is the name given to an artistic pig that was rescued from a slaughterhouse(屠宰場(chǎng))in 2016.The pig currently lives—and creates art—at an animal sanctuary in South Africa's Western Cape region.Joanne Lefson runs the sanctuary.She says pigs are very smart animals that like to keep their minds active.“When I brought Pigcasso here to the barn,I thought what I can do to keep her entertained?”she said.

Lefson gave Pigcasso some balls,paintbrushes and other objects to play with.“She basically ate or destroyed everything except these paintbrushes.She loved them so much,”Lefson said.Soon the pig was using those paintbrushes to create art.Her paintings can sell for almost$4,000.The money from her sales goes to animal welfare.Pigcasso has even had one of her artworks turned into a watch face by Swatch,a Swiss watch making company.The limited edition “Flying Pig by Ms Pigcasso” has green,blue and pink colors and sells for$120.“Flying Pig by Ms Pigcasso has us screaming with joy!”A statement on the company's Twitter page noted.

Lefson says Pigcasso is definitely an abstract expressionist. “You can't exactly define what she's painting,” Lefson added,“but I can tell you that her style slightly changes depending on her mood like any great artist.”

Reading Check

1.What’s the function of paragraph 1?

A.To introduce the Spanish artist.

B.To introduce Picasso’s famous works.

C.To introduce the topic of“Pigcasso”.

D.To introduce popular paintings nowadays.

2.What does the underlined word “sanctuary” in paragraph 2 mean?

A.Shelter. B.Studio. C.Gym. D.Zoo.

3.What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A.Lefson taught the pig to paint every day.

B.People thought highly of Pigcasso’s paintings.

C.The pig destroyed everything Lefson gave her.

D.Lefson made a fortune by selling the pig’s works.