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

[Joseph Duemer]

I don't think the artist had enough self-awareness -- to say nothing of
moral awareness -- to have "wanted" a particular response from his audience.
Such a formulation gives him too much credit & at the same time ignores the
fundamental problem that such "wanting" raises. On the evidence, the work of
art in question was a sort of spastic ejaculation of an inchoate set of
feelings that Vargas has since attempted to rationalize -- sort of like
George Bush & his dead-end defenders rationalizing the Iraq War first one
way, then another, then revising their revisions. To imagine that Vargas'
work could emerge from any coherent "wanting" to effect some response in his
audience gives him far too much credit. We ought to treat him as we would a
child we discovered pulling the wings off dragonflies -- with a certain
amount of pity & a firm command to never do such a thing again.

jd

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 9:12 PM, TheOldMole <Opus40-01 at opus40.org> wrote:

> Not if you're the dog.
>
> Steve Moore wrote:
>
>> I'm sorry if you misunderstood my point. I wasn't defending it as valuable
>> art, I just think that people are reacting exactly as the artist was
>> wanting. I agree that it is a sophmoric and unimaginitive exercise. It's
>> more pathetic than criminal.
>>
>> Steve Moore
>>
>>
>> On May 8, 2008, at 3:39 PM, Joseph Duemer <duemer at gmail.com <mailto:
>> duemer at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>  Steve, your facts do not coincide with the ones I discovered in my
>>> research into this topic. The artist & gallery owner have issues a series of
>>> contradictory & self-serving statements. The original version of the story
>>> is, certainly, exaggerated, but that's not really the point, is it? Do you
>>> really want to make excuses for such a display?
>>>
>>> Sorry for posting the link a second time, but here is my take:
>>> http://www.sharpsand.net/2008/04/27/guillermo-vargas-habacuc/
>>>
>>> Also:
>>> http://www.sharpsand.net/2008/04/28/animals/
>>>
>>> The problem with Vargas' piece, though, is conceptual & ethical,
>>> regardless of what happened to the dog. Literalizing metaphors is, usually,
>>> a sophomoric exercise; in this case, a sophomoric stunt -- whatever its
>>> motives -- made an exhibition of suffering. Your post appears to defend that
>>> exhibitionism. I find that troubling.
>>>
>>> jd
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 6:57 PM, Steve Moore <s.allen.moore at mac.com<mailto:
>>> s.allen.moore at mac.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>    I encountered this some weeks back. After researching into it
>>>    quite extensively, this is what I discovered. The artist and the
>>>    gallery owner secretly fed and cared for the dog, which was a
>>>    stray they found, at night. The dog was actually well treated,
>>>    other than having to sit around a gallery all day (which would
>>>    bore me to death). Eventually, they released the dog, but claimed
>>>    it had died. The whole point of the exhibit was to show how
>>>    passive and emotionless art world consumers are. how art doesn't
>>>    impact them on a visceral level, it's just an elitist exercise. I
>>>    think he proved his point, but then got more than he bargained
>>>    for when the story showed up on the internets.
>>>
>>>    -Steven Allen Moore
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Joseph Duemer
>>> Professor of Humanities
>>> Clarkson University
>>> Weblog: sharpsand.net <http://sharpsand.net>
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>>>
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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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-- 
Joseph Duemer
Professor of Humanities
Clarkson University
Weblog: sharpsand.net
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