Starving Dog in Art Exhibit

I got forwarded this email and I was absolutely horrified. I cannot believe it. It makes me so upset I can’t even deal.

Subject: Boycott Guillermo Vargas at the Biennial Centroamericana Honduras 2008

In 2007, the ‘artist’ Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery, and starved him to death.

For several days, the ‘artist’ and the visitors of the exhibition have watched emotionless the shameful ‘masterpiece’ based on the dog’s agony, until eventually he died.

Does it look like art to you?

But this is not all… the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of the Central American decided that the ‘installation’ was actually art, so that Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the biennial of 2008.

PLEASE HELP STOP HIM.

http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html

It’s free of charge, there is no need to register, and it will only take 1 minute to save the life of an innocent creature.

Thank you for your time.

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0 thoughts on “Starving Dog in Art Exhibit

  1. Hi, Margaret! I was forwarded this email, too, but when I checked it out on snopes.com, it said they still haven’t verified if it’s for real or not. At the very least they had some more information about it, including possibilities that the dog wasn’t really harmed at all. I’m waiting until I find out more concrete information before I sign the petition. Check it out:

    http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/vargas.asp

  2. I really hope this is a hoax because there’s no way I could have gone to that exhibit without stealing that dog and taking that poor thing home with me. And, if I could find the artist, I’d rip his nuts off.

    There needs to be a limit on “art”, even performance art, when it involves non-consentual harm to a person or animal. Absolutely sickening.

  3. I really hope it is a hoax but me, the non forwarder, actually sent it out to many people including animal lovers that know more animal lovers and so on. My Mom volunteers in an orphanage in Honduras so maybe she can find out more.

  4. why don’t we petition and demand that Guillermo Vargas Habacuc be tied up and starved to death? that would not only be art, it would be poetic justice!

  5. If this isn’t a hoax, then that is one sick mofo. If that’s what qualifies for art these days, then DaVinci must be spinning in his grave. Just awful.

  6. I do not believe it is a hoax.
    I think the artist would have spoken up by now if so.
    There was a similar show a SFAI which filmed animals being bludgeoned. The show got shut down because of threats against the facility.
    http://www.sfai.edu/News/NewsDetail.aspx?newsID=1291&navID=214&sectionID=8

    I have tried to avoid seeing pictures of any of this shit. But I did today unfortunately. But I know MC is doing a good thing by using this blog to show us to the petition.

    Art by controversy is just so old and tired. I hope these places get shut down by PETA in the usual PETA way…Or offend some of the donors who are funding this repulsive exhibit.

  7. How on earth does this happen? I am sick. This is not fucking art…this is just wrong. Where is the decency? What are we becoming or what have we become that no one stopped this? As upset as I am Ms Cho, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to sign the petition.

  8. I sincerely hope this is not true. If it is a true fact, then I agree with Lisa that he should be the one tied up and starved. And the people looking at the art were just as guilty as the artist was because they did nothing to help. For him to be invited to do it again is just sickening and an outrage. I cried when I looked at the photographs.

  9. I am pretty sure this is not a hoax. Those pictures appear to be very real, of a dog that is obviously sick, sad and starving to death. Also, as someone else mentioned, the artist would have spoken up by now with all the controversy it has caused if it were not real. This is all over the internet, I heard about this 2 weeks ago and signed the petition then, and I wept when I looked at those photos. Even if the dog did not die, as it supposedly says on Wikipedia (which I don’t trust), it was still torture. If he wants to show suffering, he should chain himself up in a corner and not eat for several days. Whatever happened, it was wrong.

  10. I think that suffering and death can be art. Maybe someone should tie up the artist and he can experience the ultimate beauty in suffering such a cruel death.

  11. This is a hoax, right? I mean, this isn’t real, is it? Because if it is, I am going to ask the Costa Rican government to press charges against this “artist”. Torturing animals is not art–it’s a crime. Any freaking psycho can create “art” by killing a living animal. It’s not that creative.

  12. What the FUCK! I hope it’s not true, I think artist should make poeple stop and think about things that go on around us. We can use a wake up call from time to time. Art can open us up to see beauty every where and make us know that we can love with greatness. However, nothing should be killed or die in the name of art. Well this guy really made me stop and take a look. If he really wants to change things for the dogs, why not feed and love this beautiful being. If we want to make a change in the world we have to be the change. Love, now thats a powerful statement.

  13. O my god………..
    please please please say this didnt really happen. Im heart broken angry and sick.
    I cant believe people would let this happen, if it really happened. I would have had a fit walking into something like that. Shaming everyone standing there, then taking the dog (by force if needed) to a animal hospital, then keeping it as my own.
    Disgusting.

  14. Thanks for posting this, and making the public more aware. I’ve now put it up on myspace to try and get additional signatures on the petition. Maybe someone should chain this guy to a corner w/o food/water for the sake of “art”!!!!

  15. I was on a Margaret Cho blog spree and I am glad I stumbled across this.
    I signed. I forwarded it to my friends demanding they do the same.
    We all should seek poetic justice! Tie a rope around his neck and starve him.

  16. Forget petitions, why doesn’t someone just go feed that fuckin dog. Sneak in a god damn granola bar or something.

  17. This is some horrible bullshit. As an artist and illustrator for 20 year I knoiw what is means to express your self even for shock value but this is fucked up. My question is why didn’t someone kidnap the dog and bring it to a vet… or jump this dude at least.

  18. OMG this is the sadest thing I ever saw. I wanna cry. That guy is SO evil and should be in Jail!! How can this even happen and him go free? THis is not art and he is a sick freak who needs to be punished and starved to deth.

  19. You know who’s even more disgusting? The PATRONS of the art gallery that hosted this ‘piece’ — what the fuck were they doing to help the dog? They bought into the gallery context and just stood there and watched the dog I guess. Fuckers.

  20. WHAT’S NEXT?!?!?! Why don’t we grab an orphan off the street, tie him up, pry off his fingernails, and toenails, carve out one of his eyeballs, and watch him suffer?!?! Oh, we can’t, because he’s HUMAN!!!!!!!!!!!! But, it’s all the same….one innocent life is no different than the other……….right???

    This is insane, and I’m sad today, to be an American. Nothing about this is artistic. It’s only cruelty……….no excuses. If anyone knows where this Mr. Habacuc lives, I promise I won’t mention your name………I’ll just show him a bit of MY artwork. I’ll call it an “inspirational piece”, and see if I can get out of a life-long sentence, all in the name of art. Fuck this guy!! I KNOW there’s a special place in hell for him!

  21. Wait a minute guys, this is art. Is art not supposed to be emotional? I think this guy set out to get a reaction and he succeeded. He’s apparently a disturbed person and I’m sure there are many others out there like him that get a kick out of torturing animals. What makes me absolutely sick is that this is acceppted by others. Look at the nice couple taking it all in… awwww thats cute. Dogs die everyday; why not take a photo of it, or paint a picture of it. Now that’s art – although sick. There’s no talent involved in watching a dog rot away on the end of a rope – thats called insanity. The world is becoming soft, especially America. We have to be PC about everything, we are afraid to offend one another because they might sue us and take our money… God forbid. So, as long as people continue to say nothing this will continue to be art.
    On a more personal level – without getting all emotional – Mr. Vargas, I hope you die soon. Your mental state is causing an uproar and we have more important issues to deal with in this world. So, please do us all a favor and shoot yourself… Better yet, blow your brains out onto a blank canvas and call it art.

    Peace

  22. Consider where this “Art show” took place. A banana republic. Do you thing their government is going to do anything might affect the local art world or the country’s commerce. Probably not. The owners of the gallery and the patrons who did not interceed are just as guilty.

  23. G.Vargas – this is horrid!

    It better be a hoax – those who viewed the exhibit need to be harrased – anyone know any russian hackers who can track them down and destroy their indentities

  24. this is AWFUL.soo terrible those pictures made me cry): i signed the petition for it to stop. oh my god… i HATE people like that. i want to rip body parts off of them. someone should chain this person up and starve them to death as an art exhibit …see how they feels.god…this pisses me off. animals cant do anything about it.they cant communicate like humans can…this is awful….jeeze.

  25. This is absolutely disgusting. To me, this is as bad as doing the same to a child or any innocent creature for that matter.It’s completely outrageous to think anyone could ever enjoy something like that. I don’t give a damn WHAT country you’re from, it cannot justify that. It’s also not a matter of money in this case either! If they can afford to have an art exhibit or attend one ( a bogus, disgusting and cruel one at that), those people can afford to do the right thing and save that poor dog.I sincerely hope it was a hoax and if it wasn’t; then anyone in attendance should pay for being inhuman, heartless people.

  26. If this is true, I’d love to hunt this guy down, tie him up, and let his cruel ass starve to death. I would throw in a few beatings for good measure. Animal abusers should be put to death.

  27. Margaret, even if this was a “hoax” or the dog didn’t “starve to death”, I do not believe we have the right to ever use a living creature for our personal entertainment. If Vargas wanted to make his point that starving dogs inhabit the streets of Costa Rica, yet people choose to ignore them but get upset over “this one” then he could have taken a video.

    Isn’t there someone you can contact? You can reach out to so many more people!!! : )

  28. This is absolutely sick. that guy deserves the same back to him and much more. The people who stood by and watched that poor defenceless animal get sicker and die and the gallery curators are almost as bad.

  29. ….the only way this could be considered “Art” would be if Guillermo Vargas showed the starving dog and then saved the dog and loved it. That dog’s new happiness would make an impact evermore enlightening then simply re-creating the neglect. What a waste.

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