Tuesday 6 November 2007

Sick


Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, an "artist" from Costa Rica took a dog from the street and used it as an art exhibit and caused it to suffer and starve to death in the name of Art. I shall not post more pictures as they are disturbing and too horrific.

To sign the petition to stop this madman exhibiting, click here:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/13031953/petition.html


This is the letter I, as others in the blogworld, shall be writing to the organisers of Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008 where Habacuc Vargas is to represent Costa Rica.

Centro Nacional de la Cultura
Antigua Fábrica Nacional de Licores.
Avenida 3, calle 15/17.
San José,
Costa Rica.
Fax: (506) 257 8702

Dear Sirs,
I am writing regarding the horrifying actions of Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, who paid local children to catch a dog on the street and then confined, starved and publicly displayed the dog as an "art" exhibit until the innocent animal died of starvation.
I, along with many people worldwide, am outraged that Guillermo Habacuc Vargas has been selected to represent Costa Rica in "Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008.” This man is by no definition of the word an artist. He is a criminally insane sadist and enjoys inflicting prolonged suffering upon his innocent victims. He is a danger to all of society, as it is well-documented that those with the capacity to intentionally cause harm to an animal have the same capacity to harm humans. To state that this animal would have died eventually of natural causes is unjustifiable and defies logical, rational thought.
To allow Guillermo Habacuc Vargas to represent Costa Rica in Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008 will in no way benefit Costa Rica. The world is watching, and the actions of this so-called artist have brought many negative assumptions as to the humanity of the people of Costa Rica. The fact that many witnesses of this animal’s suffering did nothing, and that the organizers of this event allowed this to happen, rather than taking action to see that Guillermo Vargas be criminally charged with animal abuse, is sending the world a message that Costa Rica is a cruel, uncivilized society that has no regard for life, but enjoys viewing and contributing to the loss of life.
Each and every person who knew of and witnessed the suffering of this innocent dog is guilty of causing its unnecessary death. To let this crime go unpunished, and instead to reward Guillermo Vargas by choosing him to represent Costa Rica in Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008 is unacceptable and shameful, not only to Costa Rica but to all participants in this event.
I urge you, do not condone the heinous actions of Guillermo Vargas by allowing him to participate in Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008. He should be jailed and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for this animal’s death, and should not be allowed to represent Costa Rica as an artist, for to refer to him as such is an insult to all true artists.
Yours faithfully,

Eurodog

34 comments:

Hannah Velten said...

Thanks for posting this, Eurodog. I did some research on this and it's caused a huge stir all over the blogging-world - not surprisingly. What I find most appalling about this person's 'art' is that the dog, whether it was going to be left in the street to die or not, was tied up and no one did anything about it. No one in the gallery and none of the 'spectators'. I believe that the artist was making a statement about the thousands of other starving and abandoned dogs which roam his city and which are left to die. By making people confront the fact (via this poor dog) he was educating 'viewers' and calling for us to be less hypocritical. All well and good (if this was, indeed, his aim), but this dog was chained there and left to die with all that attention on it. It really saddens me to think that the artist and the public allowed this to happen. I do hope that the artist is now doing something positive to deal with the stray dogs in his city ie. euthanasing the diseased/ill, setting up adoption centres, education programmes for dog owners and potential dog owners, etc...
As to whether the artist should be allowed to represent his country, I think his country will withdraw this 'honour' after they become aware of the world's response to this exhibit.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

How awful. Thanks for alerting us. I will certainly sign the petition and write a letter.

Anonymous said...

Actually the reason for the 'exhibit' was to pay tribute to a criminal who was mauled to death by two rottweilers.

"According to the artist, his “art” was a tribute to Natividad Canda, a Nicaraguan burglar killed in Costa Rica by two rottweilers guarding property he had entered at night."

This had nothing to do with publicizing the plight of starving dogs in his country.

And as far as I have been able to find out, this 'artist' is basically just saying the dog was going to die anyway, so who cares. No apology, no reparation, nothing! He feels totally justified in his actions. And he continues to claim that nothing will keep him from representing his country, the petition will have no result at all.

Well, whether the petition satisfies its aim or not, the world now knows of his atrocity and his country knows how the world feels!

He and his 'work' are beyond a disgrace! Animal cruelty in action is all it was.

jmb said...

Eurodog,
This is so unbelievably upsetting. Do they not have an SPCA in that country? Did none of the viewers have hearts?
I can say no more, it is heartbreaking.
I have signed the petition and will write a letter.

LITTLE BROWN DOG said...

Eurodog - this is quite shocking, and I completely agree with your outrage. I find it hard to imagine that people actually went to see this "exhibit", and even more shocking that no-one did anything about it.

Anonymous said...

Thankyou to the many people throughout the world who have posted and protested this horrific animal cruelty and abuse, in a vain attempt to “cover the crime of abuse” as art, by this artist from Costa Rica and his followers.

Let the truth of the crimes committed by this artist as this ‘madman’ who cruelly killed this dog by starvation of food and water, in the name of art, be truthfully disclosed and never forgotten.

Please sign the petition and write letters of protest world-wide.

We the People in the United States of America are very concerned about this dog nightmare.

http://animalsclubfreedom.us/

and

http://DogPress.org/

PS: I did sign the petition against the artist, around the 50,000 mark timeframe.

Whispering Walls said...

How disgusting!

Anonymous said...

I have signed the petition under my real name - I shudder at the stupid thoughtless cruelty of this...

Liz Hinds said...

I tried to sign the online petition but I didn't know what I was supposed to put in the fourth box and it wouldn't let me leave it blank. Please translate!

Jon M said...

Truly sick.

Duxbury Ramblers said...

Have signed the petition - we are disgusted and sickened by this terrible act of deliberate cruelty.

Unknown said...

I heard about this and like others,am appalled.

lady macleod said...

I signed and I shall post a link to your site over at my place. I am outraged, so much horror in the world and this man wants to call it art? No!

I do see what hannah is saying, but I think there has to be a better way.

ControlRoomOp said...

5 minutes in a room with him please.
Me, my dog and him.
Revenge is not allways the best answer, but sometimes......

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Your wish is my command on canine of the Euro! Petition signed. Art has to have some boundaries and this fool went too far.

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe this, it really makes me sick and I would like to make this man suffer the same fate as the poor creature. Disgusting freak.
I hope very much that the petition will have an effect.
Thank you for discussing this!

Maude Lynn said...

I'm utterly speechless.

Eurodog said...

Hello HV,
Yes you might be right that he was trying to draw people's attention to the plight of similar dogs. You have travelled and you have like we all have seen how dogs are treated and neglected and abandonned and riddled with disease and nobody cares. I came close to a rabbied dog in India but was unable to shoot it or put it down in any way. It was roaming the streets amidst playing children.
If the artist was making a statement, he went about it the wrong way. I believe he was drawing attention to himself. What I find even more alarming is the visitors to this gallery who just looked on and did nothing. Apparently the exhibition organisers were under strict instructions not to feed the dog or to give it water. The world we live in is out of control.

Eurodog said...

for the love of the dog,
I agree with you. This man is not a nice fellow.

Eurodog said...

Thank you Lady Mac Leod for linking this post on your blog.

Eurodog said...

Thank you all for responding and for taking this to heart. We all feel the same about this.

Eurodog said...

Thank you Ellee for linking this post on your blog.

Eurodog said...
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Eurodog said...
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Mopsa said...

How utterly vile; and no, never in the name of art.

Flowerpot said...

This is quite horrific. There are no words for such behaviour. Well done ED for writing the letter - let's hope this man is suitably punished. Though I can think of only one suitable punishment. Teh same as what he did to that poor dog.

Cornish Dreamer said...

ED - thank you very much for alerting me to your blog entry. It is indeed, as you title suggests, sick. I shall certainly be heading my way over to the petition area asap and then write a letter. Art is no excuse for animal cruelty.

RT

Anonymous said...

Evil beyond belief.

La Gatita Gringa said...

I have pasted your post into my blog and provided appropriate links. Thank you for alerting us.

Whichendbites said...

Petition done, nice site.

Anonymous said...

Eurodog

If you really want to get back at this pathetic excuse of a so called "artists" have your readers contact the dutch organization that funds the Bienarte 2008 event, HIVOS (Humanistisch Instituut voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking) at
info@hivos.nl and tell them to stop supporting events that showcase artists that kill/hurt man's best friend for art's sake.

Anonymous said...

BAD NEWS FOLKS: PETITION HAS APPARANTLY FAILED!

A new comment on the post “Artistic License”:
Blogsite : Gatica Gringa from Madrid, Spain

Unfortunately the academy that hosts Bienarte 2008 has posted a disclaimer saying that the petition will not affect their consideration of Guillermo Vargas Habacuc.

So best is to appeal to those that help fund the event.

Have your readers contact the dutch organization that funds the Bienarte 2008 event:

HIVOS (Humanistisch Instituut voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking)
at info@hivos.nl

Tell them to stop supporting events that showcase artists that kill/hurt animals for art’s sake.

In the meantime, I suggest that all artists MAKE art about what they would like Guillermo Vargas Habacuc to suffer, like this one did in our home town:

http://www.vazalt.com/2007_Habacuc.htm

Buena suerte!

Post a comment.
http://gatitagringa.blogspot.com/2007/11/artistic-license.html

Posted by Anonymous to La Gatita Gringa at November 15, 2007 10:26 PM

Source of the above information:
http://gatitagringa.blogspot.com/2007/11/artistic-license.html

Mai said...

I have published your post in its entirety in my blog, sometimes - 2,

http://mai-sometimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/starving-dog-as-art.html

I didn't wait for your permission, but I was sure it was OK.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.