Re: [New-Poetry] POL: Prevent the âArtisticâ Death of Another Innocent Animal

Anny Ballardini anny.ballardini at tin.it
Thu May 8 15:59:49 EDT 2008 

If it's an hoax, which I hope, it is very easy to cut out and paste any image above another one (even I can do it). My students spoke of it some months ago. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: amy king 
  To: NewPoetry: Contemporary Poetry News &amp,Views 
  Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:45 PM
  Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] POL: Prevent the âArtisticâ Death of Another Innocent Animal


  Thanks, Tad!  I tried to check out the validity and found that it is in some dispute as the artist has made several contrary statements since his initial claim of letting the dog starve to death "for art"  -- I figured regardless of the final truth, it's a terrible spectacle and abusive.  We wouldn't let a malnourished child sit in a gallery for hours on end; why should an domesticated animal be treated that way?  Also disturbing is the lack of "patron" reaction.  I don't know why someone didn't untie the dog and attempt to walk him out of the gallery with him.  Maybe this is the kind of discussion his "art" is supposed to inspire along with drawing attention to the homeless dog situation, but ultimately and regardless of his aim, the installation is abhorrent and there are far more effective ways to address the homeless dog problem -- if he really cared to do so.  

  Best,
  Amy

  TheOldMole <Opus40-01 at opus40.org> wrote:
    I signed...trusting Amy that it's on the up and up. I googled the guy, 
    and at least the story is true. And horrifying.

    shin02143 at aol.com wrote:
    > That is utterly cruel sadistic behavior. It is not art, it is murder.
    >
    > Richard
    >
    >
    > -----Original Message-----
    > From: amy king 
    > Sent: Thu, 8 May 2008 1:34 pm
    > Subject: [New-Poetry] POL: Prevent the “Artistic” Death of Another 
    > Innocent Animal
    >
    > *THE STORY:*
    > *
    > *
    > In 2007, the ‘artist’ Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the 
    > street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery and began starving him to 
    > death.
    > For several days, the ‘artist’ and the visitors of the exhibition 
    > watched, emotionless, the shameful ‘masterpiece’ based on the dog’s 
    > agony, until eventually he died.
    >
    > Does THIS sound like art to you?
    >
    > But this is not all… the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of Central 
    > America decided that the ‘installation’ WAS actually art, so Guillermo 
    > Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the 
    > Biennial of 2008.
    >
    > *Let’s STOP HIM!!!!! *Sign the petition:
    > http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html 
    > 
    >
    > 
    > Here is another petition that is 2 million signatures strong. Please 
    > feel free to sign it as well:
    > http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html 
    > 
    >
    > 
    > Please do it. 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.
    >
    > AND, for those of you saying “This is all a hoax, etc,” here is a 
    > direct quote FROM THE ‘ARTIST’ himself!:
    > “I knew the dog died on the following day from lack of food. During 
    > the inauguration, I knew that the dog was persecuted in the evening 
    > between the houses of aluminum and cardboard in a district of Managua. 
    > 5 children who helped to capture the dog received 10 bonds of córdobas 
    > for their assistance. The name of the dog was Natividad, and I let him 
    > die of hunger in the sight of everyone, as if the death of a poor dog 
    > was a shameless media show in which nobody does anything but to 
    > applaud or to watch disturbed. In the place that the dog was exposed 
    > remain a metal cable and a cord. The dog was extremely ill and did not 
    > want to eat, so in natural surroundings it would have died anyway; 
    > thus they are all poor stray dogs: sooner or later they die or are 
    > killed.”
    >
    > ~~~~
    >
    > To be fair (with lots of comments from Costa Ricans):
    >
    > In his defence, the artist has claimed that what he was attempting to 
    > prove was that those who saw the suffering of the dog just walked on 
    > by and that if it had been left on the street to die, no-one would 
    > have even known of its existence.
    >
    > It has also been reported that the dog did not die but escaped, and 
    > that it had been fed by Vargas and was only tied up during the gallery 
    > opening times. It has not been possible to confirm this.
    >
    > The Managua exhibition attracted worldwide attention and many people 
    > believe it to have been an act of cruelty rather than art. A petition 
    > has been started in an attempt to prevent Habacuc’s involvement in the 
    > 2008 Biennial and from repeating the spectacle.
    >
    > If you would like to sign the petition, visit: 
    > http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html
    > –from * Artist Guillermo Vargas - Habacuc 
    > *
    > 
    > _______
    >
    >
    >
    > http://www.amyking.org
    >
    >
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    -- 
    Tad Richards
    http://www.opus40.org/tadrichards/
    http://opusforty.blogspot.com/

    The moral is this: in American verse,
    The better you are, the pay is worse.
    --Corey Ford

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