Artist Guillermo Vargas - Habacuc

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Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:30:11 +0100

It seems to me this dog did not starve to death. It was fed and looked after. The point was that everyone thought it was staving but DID NOTHING. It is a piece dedicated to the life of Natividad Canda ( hense why the dog was named Natividad) who was mauled to death by two dogs in front of cameras for half an hour while the police did nothing. This is because he was a drug addict....a dog in the eyes of society. No one is complaining about his death. No one helped this dog that was 'starving'. and where are the photos of this dead dog in a gallery full of watching people???? - lala

School Project

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:26:10 +0100

I am doing a school project about animal cruelty. i saw an email a while back about this man and his creul ways. I immediatly thought of him to put on the front page. what he is doing is wrong. many of you would agree. Vargas is an animal who will do anything and use the excuse "it is for my art". he would not terribly enjoy it if we were to tie him up till he dies now would he? I hope future artists learn from his mistakes.:) - Bianca

Do not use the word ‘art’ to justify the act.

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:52:26 +0100

The original intention of the so called ‘art’ could be positive, but it is still logically wrong. Should I tie some homeless people in a gallery and starve them to death just to get the public’s awareness of homelessness? And should I say, ”Hey, they will die anyway. But if they die in public, they can receive more attention! ” I’ve known people who raise the issue of stray animals by taking pictures and display them on blogs or in galleries, from which we can absolutely get the messages by a single glance. Do not use the word ‘art’ to justify the act. Do not use the sentence ‘I want people’s attention on the thing.’ to erase brutality. There are million ways to do it good, but somehow this guy chose to do the worst. - Yahan

The next work should be himself starving to death

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:36:56 +0100

There is no name for such cruelty and to be shameless and call it art. I don't understand how he was allowed to get away with this. I am costarrican and find this so deeply upsetting, embarassing, enfuriating, ignorant, relentless, unacceptable and distressing. The pictures show the dog lying on the floor like a skeleton with hardly any life in him. You cannot fake that, it is not a hoax. No matter what you people say about the message or intentions. No animal deserves to be put through such suffering to prove a point. I would like to see this clown in the same position. - Mariela

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Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Most definitely a cruel thing to do. However, there is no evidence that the dog died or that Habacuc fed him, but it is still a very, very bad thing to do to a living animal. Hey, Habacuc, how would you like it if we tied you up, left you there for days...weeks...while there is a giant cheeseburger a few feet from your reach. And people can stare at you. POOR DOG. ): This act should NOT be repeated in the name of \"art\". Never. EVER. - Breanna B.

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Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

becker: you have spoken like a true psycho sociopath. so, why not starve yourself until you find out what happened to this dog. in fact, why not starve your family, tie them up, until you learn ampathy - azbernie

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Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

1. I hate the fact that people are discrediting the fact that he is an artist because of one piece of work that not everyone agrees with. 2. It is still very unclear whether the dog was let go or not, so why is everyone jumping to conclusions when the story is not totally clear? 3. He didn\'t put the dog in that condition, the dog was already like that. 4. It show cased how big of an issue strays are there....i went to Morocco and their were cats all over the place. Many were very very thin like this dog. I took pictures because it was a sad sight and I wanted to show how different of a world it is there. Does that mean that I committed the crime of cruelty to animals? 5. I read someone else\'s comment that said how no one seemed to do anything about the fact that the dog was tied up or had no water (all those who saw it at the exhibition), so i agree, these people are hypocrits and very quick to judge and condemn. 6. Now because of this image, people are more concerned about bashing some guy than helping the issue he was trying to showcase. Seriously, no one gives a shit whether dogs are starving and dying in the streets there, all they are concerned with is bashing this ARTIST because they have nothing better to do. 7. It is a great piece of art. Not only does it focus the attention of how bad conditions for some animals are and how out of hand it is, but it also helps us realize that all of you who are criticizing the artist are not helping the cause either. He just proved that all of you who say this is \"cruelty\", are not focusing on furthering help to these animals. You are all sitting back and not doing anything. You are all talk. 8. Don\'t we have tons of artists who go over seas and see the malnourished kids in other countries? Don\'t they snap photos of these kids? I know from viewing something like this that not all shots like this are simply natural, some are posed. Look at the commercials put on TV that advertise trying to help a child who is skin and bone, dirty, disabled etc.......that was all posed. All those pictures are considered art by the people we consider artists who took them. Artists posed shots and videos to get help for these kids. Guillermo simply posed a serious problem and suceeded in getting attention, however, people took it the wrong way. 9. I just want to stress again how we do not know all the details to this story. 10. You all need to be more open minded and not so quick to judge. - Becker

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Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

I just recently heard about this story and researched it. Not only am I appalled by the horrific cruelty of the dog by the \"artist,\" I am more disgusted by the patrons who paid money to see this exhibit and who failed to rescue the dog. Regardless of whether or not the dog was previously sick/starving, the dog could have been saved with the proper treatment. If it was the \"artist\'s\" purpose to expose the over-population of starving strays, than there are thousands of other ways to prove this point -- a needless killing NOT being one of them. And shame on you other writers who commented on this article with your \"he\'s just proving a point,\" \"you nag but don\'t do anything,\" and \"see? we\'re all numb to the concept of suffering people (pets).\" Don\'t try to over-evaluate situations. Pure and simple: killing is wrong and should not be accepted as art. - Melissa B

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Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

He proved a point despite the obvious cruelty of it all, we all become complacent and passive, just like in wars and famine in other parts of the world even with news delivering images and stories about suffering and injustice. - Tim Butler

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Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

I THINK HE NEEDS TO BE KILLED HE HURT AN INNOCENT ANIMAL SO HE NEEDS TO BE SHOT! IF HE DOES THIS AGAIN I WILL TURN HIM IN! NO ANIMAL DESERVES THAT AND WHY DIDN'T ANYONE DO ANYTHING TO HAVE THE DOG RELEASED? ITS NOT RIGHT AND ITS NOT ''ART''! DOESN'T THIS GUY KNOW THIS? - Anonymus

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Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Yet again another so called 'artist' thinks of a brilliant way to shock and cause controversy.

Yes it was cruel, but i guess he has succeeded in achieving what he set out to do and that is make his name name (in)famous worldwide. We are all feeding his desire and making him more famous. - spixx

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Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

This man is evil he kept the dog on a leash too short to even get to the food and water so he let the dog die. - dog lover

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Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Think about this before you guys start bashing this guy a little bit more.

He tied the dog with a rope that can be easily be open, and NO ONE in the name of so called screaming cruelty BOTHERED to untie the dog?

He put the title of the art with dried dog food, ANYONE bothered to peel it off and feed the dog?

Anyone BOTHERED to bring water and feed the thirsty dying dog?

ANYONE called a police?

Don't yap cruelty, when all you did was nag nag nag.

Which proved his point that all you do is
- stare
- complain
- sign something anonymously
- did NOTHING. - Ebb

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Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

I declare shenanigans, shenanigans i tell you! Show me the proof of abuse! - d-dizzle

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Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

i think all u guys commenting are so funny..u dont even know the artist, you dont live there, u've never walked those streets and yet ur so hasty to condemn him. i'm sure that man made a GREAT point.

Stop bashing the guy. i have to pass by a homeless guy (who has no hands) every morning on my way to work.. and he's just one of the thousands lying around on the streets if anyone really just cared to look.

People are in dire need of help and its always a great thing if some one can point this out. I doff my cap at this guy for raising the awareness..i dont care what you all say. whatever his reasons were, this is a better-than-hoped for response! my 2 cents - peace

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Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

There's no point condemning this guy if he did actually help the dog more than anyone else would have by giving it food and water.

Just because he displayed the dogs suffering in an art gallery doesn't mean he was causing it.

The dog was already a starving stray, he just bought attention to that. - Katie

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Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

While I disagree with the act, some part of me was able to appreciate it; however, I did not enjoy it by any means. I think this adequately represents the unsettling indifference of humans when something else suffers.

The average middle class family in a first-world nations has approximately 10 TIMES the amount of money to live a healthy lifestyle; yet, we constantly bombard ourselves with materials and ignore the famine occurring abroad. Why is this one act so discernible when we turn a blind eye to human oppression and suffering.

Suffering exists in the world - it always has and it always will - and people and other animals will continue to endure suffering as means to an end. Political oppression and slavery will always continue to exists and world peace is delusional.

Instead, we should embrace suffering and designate it to a meaningful end. Although the act was horrific, it proved what it set out to prove, the horrific indifference of mankind. - You'd like to know..

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Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

It's a sad, sad day when a human being can justify animal cruelty by calling it "art". How can anyone just sit there and let a living creature starve like that? -- that man or those people at the gallery who ignored this? The notion that these people and this man are the same species as I am is sickening. - Asia I.

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Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Anyone who defends this horrible, abbusive, sycotic, murderous, ass hole of a man, who is not by the way, in any means an artist, is absolutly no better than him.

What this man is doing to those poor inocent animals is compleatly disgusting! It's not there fault that they're on the streets and anyone with an ounce of moral would NEVER do ANYTHING like that EVER!

In any other home this cruelty would be considerd animal abuse, and the accused would be arested, not praised for the artistery! This man is sick and he gets away with it because he calls it art. Artists are supposed to created life and beauty, not destroy it!!! - Jen

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Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

why would you do such a stupid horrible cruel thing to a poor inoccent animal.

this dog could have had a pretty good life if this stupid guillermo vargas had not have pick this poor dog up off the streets and torcher this dog im sure that this dog would have preferd to die trying to live on the streets insted of suffering infront of a hole bunch of people.

And same on the people who went to the exibet to see this animal i cant even think of how heartless those people and mr.vargas can be i will not let this happen again this will stop now!!!!!!!!!! - Mandy