Animal cruelty as art?!?

[valiha]

I found this on a journal of one of deviantartists I watch. Please read and sign the petition.

"PLEASE REPOST!!!!!!

what a disgrace to the world of art and the human species...




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.


It takes a second to help put a stop to animal abuse.




sign the petetion to stop this asshole by going to [link]
or clicking any of the pictures.











Until Every cage is empty.



AND EVERY FUCKING ASSHOLE STOPS POSING ANIMAL CRUELTY AS ART."

Comments

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. But online petitions are wothless at best and ignored blatantly at worst.

According to www.snopes.com -- which I recommend checking before posting anything like this -- they're not even certain that the facts as stated here are real.

And the upcoming exhibit will NOT be a repeat performance.

I am against animal cruelty as well, but I will not be signing this petition.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

While I agree that online petitions nowadays mean very little - gone are the days when online or snail-mail uproar could bring back a TV show, for example - sometimes they are the only way to express frustration and react in some way.

I checked snopes.com, and judging from what was written there, it was pretty clear to me that the event happened, but the outcome is unknown.

Quote:

The WSPA is well aware of this situation. It does appear that the facts have been misconstrued in some news articles, however. The artist is Costa Rican, and this one-time exhibit happened in a Nicaraguan art gallery last October. It involved one dog, and this dog was not replaced by another after it had died. While there is an animal cruelty law in Costa Rica, there is no such legislation in Nicaragua; so unfortunately the artist did not break the law by mistreating this dog. As far as we are aware, he is not planning on doing this exact same thing again, but the controversy now lies in the fact that he has been chosen to represent Costa Rica at the Central American Biennial, set to take place in Honduras this year, with an exhibit apparently not involving a dog this time...

...This issue is of concern to the WSPA, and it is unfortunate that this artist will be able to gain publicity through this second exhibition despite his previous display involving mistreatment of this dog. The WSPA is completely opposed to the use of animals for entertainment purposes. Despite this, it seems that there is little more that can be done to address this issue, and as we have very limited resources, we must direct them where we can most effectively promote animal welfare. We will, however, continue to monitor the situation in case further action can be taken at any time.

Even if this post does nothing except make people stop and think a little, it will have achieved its purpose. You're perfectly free to sign or not, but I would urge you to help an animal in your neighborhood in some way, maybe donate some pet food to a local shelter or something. There are different (and more tangible) ways of helping.

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

You know what? That's a wonderful idea. I'll see what I can do.

(((((HUGS))))))))

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you agree :) If I had an opportunity, I'd adopt an animal, however, with my crazy schedule and the fact I live in an apartment it's impossible. I've had cats all my life, and just before I moved to sarajevo, my two cats, a mother and daugher (Tweety and Lola) were poisoned. I don't think I'll ever be owned by a cat again (they do truly own YOU, not the other way around). I miss my babies! :'(

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

The attitude, when it comes to animals, in the third world is totally different than it is in the western world.
I have seen many examples of it when I have traveled and lived overseas, and most of it is NOT pretty.
So, it does not surprise me that this man, and I use the term loosely, is from that mindset.......
It is (((((always))))) that way.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

And not only in the thirld world, Animal Planet's Animal Cops shws you that such attitude exists in developed countries as well.

I understant that we mostly raise animals for food or clothes, and sometimes there are no options when you'r efaced with survival, but that doesn't mean that you have to torture them.

Here's my experience (and this is a true story): during the war, food was scarce. My grandmother had chicken, and the were her pets; each one had a name. We fed them for as long as we could, but as winter approached, we ran out of their formula, but we also started running out of food for us.

The chicken had to be eaten.

We're Muslim, and as such, if we need to take a life of an animal, certain things must be done first. You have to perform ablution, tie the animal, cover its eyes and say a prayer for it. Only then can you end its life.

The only ones who had the courage to do that were me and a neigbour whose cellar we occupied at the time. It was my job to capture them. Each time I would go in their enclosure they'd come to see if I had any food for them. But as their number diminished, they started hiding, and finaly wouldn't come out no matter what we brought tolure them out.

We all shared the meat, even my grandmother who had raised and named all of them. We did everything we could to make it quick and painless, but I get a lump in my throat evry time I remember, which is good, because it reminds me how precious life is, and how these animals lost their lives so we could live on.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

What you describe is the humane thing to do, but a large percentage of the world sees them as commodities only........