Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, a native Costa Rican, considers himself to be an artist. His latest work, if you can even call it that, featured the chaining and withholding of food from a stray dog picked up from the streets of Nicaragua. Visitors to the exhibition were told not to feed the dog, while the canine, named Nativity, was left to die on the cold, hard floor about 1 foot from a wall display constructed of dog food. Mr. Vargas claims he did the display to highlight the plight that street dogs face in his hometown of San Jose, asserting that it is ok because, “the dog would have died anyway”.
Maybe another artist would like to feature you, Mr. Vargas, in their next display. Being a mortal soul you will eventually perish, so why not be featured in an artistic expression that shows the decline in function as a result of withholding liquids? That way we can better understand the plight of people who do not have access to potable water. The gallery setup could feature a water cooler, kitchen sink, beautiful ice sculpture and ironically arranged spring water containers all within about a foot of your reach. All of the gallery visitors will be encouraged to, instead of giving you liquids, look down upon you sadly and express their concern for your imminent death.
Unfortunately, there are no laws in Nicaragua, where the incident took place almost a year ago, prohibiting animal abuse. While Guillermo Habacuc Vargas may not be able to be prosecuted for his crime, that does not make him any less of a monster. Using “artistic expression” as an excuse to mistreat, harm and eventually kill this dog is pathetic, weak and absolutely shameful.
Somehow, through his use of an unwilling subject’s death, he was awarded for his “vision” and asked to recreate this exhibit at the upcoming Visual Arts Biennial of the Central American showcase in Honduras. We need to make sure this vicious act is not again repeated and no other dog is captured, and subsequently left to die for the sake of “art”. There is a petition that was started and I urge all of you to sign. It is in Spanish and English, but you will need to know these translations to fill it out - you will be asked for your name, email address, Ciudad / Localidad: (required) = city and PaÃs: (required) = country.
Petition - http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition-sign.html
Photos from the Exhibit (WARNING - Very Disturbing) - http://elperritovive.blogspot.com/
Share ThisApril 24th, 2008 | News, Realpolitik, Adventures with Dogs
It is not art at all. It is merely a masculist exercise in power and self-absorption without the slightest excuse for ever leaving the slimy dinner napkin on which the first doodles of the project were laid out.
It’s a publicity stunt which isn’t worth a bucket of rabid hippo drool.
This fake art isn’t protected freedom of anything except the freedom to exploit a creature over whom the fake-ass artiste had the power of life and death. It is an exercise in desensitizing people to outrageously stupid, crass behavior.
SHAME ON YOU for not using the brains Nature gave you that would, in the absence of overrides by a numbed incivility, have stopped the plan in its tracks before its capacity to arouse the anger, compassion and disgust reached its masturbatory apex.
The chain measures the distance VIEWERS were willing to go to avoid responsibility for their moral lapse in not jumping over it to rescue respect for life. Starvation represents the power of cruelty to spin a web of BULLSHIT around itself. It is unutterably stupid to suggest that there’s any relationship between national borders and this exercise in worshipping publicity.
Comment by Mars Bar — May 15, 2008 @ 8:51 pm