The Costa Rican, conceptual artist Guillermo Vargas has stirred up a lot controversy regarding the death of a street dog during his exposition titled "Eres lo que lees" at the Galeria Codice in Managua, Nicaragua.
He paid two children to capture a dog from a poor neighborhood in Managua to exhibit it in an art gallery. Already in poor condition, the dog (called Nativity) was tied to a wall and refused any care by Vargas' orders. For three days a lot of people observed impassively how the poor dog starved to death. Though there were people in the gallery who wanted Natividad fed and realeased, Habacuc refused to allow it. Does it look like art to you?
This display, Vargas claimed, was a response to the death of Natividad Canda, who was killed in Costa Rica by two rottweilers guarding the place that Canda intended to rob. Vargas meant to show that no concern was given to the individual until after his death, much like the starving orphaned dog.
He paid two children to capture a dog from a poor neighborhood in Managua to exhibit it in an art gallery. Already in poor condition, the dog (called Nativity) was tied to a wall and refused any care by Vargas' orders. For three days a lot of people observed impassively how the poor dog starved to death. Though there were people in the gallery who wanted Natividad fed and realeased, Habacuc refused to allow it. Does it look like art to you?
This display, Vargas claimed, was a response to the death of Natividad Canda, who was killed in Costa Rica by two rottweilers guarding the place that Canda intended to rob. Vargas meant to show that no concern was given to the individual until after his death, much like the starving orphaned dog.
Guillermo Vargas also said the purpose of the work was not to cause any type of infliction on the dog, but rather to illustrate a point. "In my home city of San Jose, Costa Rica, tens of thousands of dogs starve and die of illness each year in the streets and no one pays them a second thought", he mentioned.
He also explained that if you publicly display one of these starving creatures, such as the case with Nativity, it creates a backlash that brings out a big of hypocrisy in all of us. Nativity was a very sick creature and would have died in the streets anyway.
Habacuc Vargas' exhibition won first prize in the Bienal 2007 and was invited to reapet this act of "art" once again in the Bienal 2008 in Honduras this November. No doubt this decision has produced visceral reactions on people who respect the right to live and animal right activists. Actually, there is an online petition to ban Habacuc from this event. Here is the link: http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html
He also explained that if you publicly display one of these starving creatures, such as the case with Nativity, it creates a backlash that brings out a big of hypocrisy in all of us. Nativity was a very sick creature and would have died in the streets anyway.
Habacuc Vargas' exhibition won first prize in the Bienal 2007 and was invited to reapet this act of "art" once again in the Bienal 2008 in Honduras this November. No doubt this decision has produced visceral reactions on people who respect the right to live and animal right activists. Actually, there is an online petition to ban Habacuc from this event. Here is the link: http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html
Trying to understand Guillermo Vargas' point is not easy, but let's make an effort.
The conceptual art has its roots in the Dada or Dadaism which is an anti-art cultural movement. The great contribution of the Dadaism to the modern art is the constant questioning about what should be considered art; the belief that everything is a conception that can be called into question; therefore, there are no fixed rules that legitimize what art is.
All those conceptual and postconceptual artists who make performance art and installations are heirs of Dadaism. However, there are no historical records that
SIGN THE PETITION!!
10 comments:
In performance art there is no a clear definition of art, everything is allowed in conceptual art. I think he is right in the context of conceptual art;however, no one has the right to decide about the life of the other;even dogs have right to live. Furthermore, he hasn't reached his objective. You won't save thousands of street dogs letting one starve to death.
This is a difficult subject to dicuss. Art is a very complex issue and it depends on everyone's vision.
The objective of this artist was good but the methods, we think, were wrong. You can't transgress animal rights to create conscience about dogs on the streets.
How Camila said, no one has the right to decide about the life of the other; dogs are also living beings just like us.
This person is not an artist, he is a cruel and heartless bastard. An artist is someone with a soul and feeling, who gives pleasure to people all over the world.It would be nice to see him treated as he treated the dog.
I think art can make us think about several issues, but there definitely are smarter and more human ways to make people concern about street dogs. I don't know, take them pictures and show those pics in a exhibition, then bring those starving dogs back to health, and tie them up next to their original pictures to see the improvement. Surely doing that someone would be willing to adopt the healthy dogs.
he isn't an artist, he is a cruel person, i think that he hasn't common sense, he is only a basatard, he likes to watch other people pain
THAT ISN'T ART!!
I'm speechles... I mean, I know there are no limits to what "art" can do, but putting a dog to death? now that's cruel. This guy's sick, if he wanted people to care about street dogs, he has just done it the wrong way. He should have just shown pics or videos of those helpless animals and that could have been way better than this. His idea was just as absurd as having a young boy starving to death and say "help a poor kid" for example.
That's my opinion, he IS an animal abuser and he should be punished for that because what he has done it's not art, it's just cruel and unfair
The greates artists of all time like Salvador Dali,Pablo Picasso and Paul cézanne created some of the most beatiful pieces of arts thanks to their talent and hard work no by letting animals die. I think that this is the way that he has to hide his lack of talent.
we all know that art is very subjective, even so there is common sense and I believe that it is here where we must make a pause in the matter. I believe that art is not expose the lives of other human beings less with the aim of saving the same. art is a tool by which it expresses a vision of the world, of something that can be expressed by more conventional means, but this gentleman step limits.
I think it`s a very shocking to see these murdered animals, but I think that this is a sample of how cruel human can be.We think that we are the lords of the world I mean we could more developt in terms of reason and maybe feeling expression than other animals,but this is not a reason to kill animal just because we want to, and I Think most of us agree that there are better and more creative ways to do art.
Wilson
Back in 2008, Vargas had the delusion that he could make a sacrifice, and that it would make him famous. It is now 2023. The only thing people remember about him is, 'he's that guy who starved a dog once.' No one thinks of him as an artist. He's just that guy who starved a dog.
Time washes away all bullshit.
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