Sign this if you don't believe it is Art.

This topic was created in the Virgo forum by Mgirl on Monday, April 21, 2008 and has 36 replies.
Courtesy of Mata Hari on the scorp board:
Hi all. This is a very serious matter...
In 2007, the 'artist' Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery, starving him to death. He called this a 'Visual Arts Installation'.
For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition watched the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's agony, until eventually the dog died.



Does it look like art to you?
But this is not all. A prestigious US Visual Arts Biennial decided that the 'installation' was actually 'art', so that Guillermo VargasHabacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the biennial of 2008.

Let's STOP HIM!!!!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition-sign.html

Please do it.
It's free of charge and it will only take 1 minute to save the life of an innocent creature.
That's not art, it's animal cruelty. I can't understand how this wasn't stopped, shouldn't the authorities have been put onto this straight away? What a jerk.
I've stated loud and clear on the Scorpio board about the ignorance of this situation ... and how this was the artists aim to point out.
"Sign this if you don't believe it is Art."
Don't sign a petition to STOP an atrocity .. just sign you believe it's art. In other words ... just voice a feeling or opinion but don't do anything about it.
"Vargas, 32, said he wanted to test the public's reaction, and insisted none of the exhibition visitors intervened to stop the animal's suffering."

This artist created a situation in which to prove to people that they are moved on an emotional level .. however, sit back and choose to ignore doing anyting to prevent such atrocities from presenting themselves to their awareness of it .. such as ..
"More than a million people have signed an online petition urging organisers of this year's event to stop Vargas taking part."
The above quote is saying that a million people have signed a petition trying to stop this man from putting in their faces, that which they don't like .. however, a million people have NOT signed a petition from it taking place by this man.
Ignorance is bliss ... if you don't make me aware of it then it doesn't exist and I like this .. I like not being aware .. so let me sign a petition so this man won't be allowed to show me how ignorant I am.

The whole point of this exhibit was to express to us humans that just because we are "moved" with outrage .... we don't do anything about it, though we think we are standing up for a cause, just for this very emotion in itself, because we feel it.
Brilliant artist .....
bijou, i'm not sure if you meant any of that aimed at me, but I clearly asked in my post why weren't the authorities notified so that this could be stopped? If I saw something like that I would have gone and had stern words with the manager straight away and threatened to call an authority if they didnt' have the situation rectified immediately.
I have no idea what your country is like, but in australia we have a really good RSPCA and over here you're lucky if you see a dog around that's got out of it's yard for more than 20 minutes, let alone animals that are dying of starvation on the streets. Also alot of the community residents phone in when they see animals in distress. I guess we are lucky over here!
I don't agree with this artist's method of getting his point across, but what's done is done - and I hope that there has been some kind of positive impact within the people that saw this exhibition, even if it was not apparent straight away.
I also think it's important to consider the impact of what it means in future if things like this are allowed to happen - sure, cruelty to an animal might slip pass now, but what about 10 or 20 years in the future, what kind of horrendous crimes will people be able to get away with if they simply label it as "art"? I think we need to be very careful about where to draw the line when it comes to art - trying not to curb creativity whilst making sure that any kind of crime (in australia cruelty against animals is a crime that you can be fined for, go to jail for or go against your criminal record) cannot slip through the system. Hmmm....
oh.... this is very sad. No one has any right to make any animal suffer.
If I have power, I will give them the same treatment they gave to that poor dog.
It is not art, it's the display of their mentally sick minds in public.
Any body who took part in it, directly or indirectly should be given life sentence.
I am angry, sad, upset ..

For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition watched the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's agony, until eventually the dog died.
************
What freaking "masterpiece" - IDIOTS, jerks .... Some one need to do the following:
Starve that mentally sick "artist" and ALL VISITORS promoting this nonsense to death and telecast that 'Visual Arts Installation' to the world until their death. I would love to provide every thing necessary for that telecast for free until they all DIE.
I used to think, the Arabian laws of cutting hands of a rapist are brutal. I think I now understand why it is like that. We need some of it here in the US.
Ridiculous.. I can't read the entire post after the first two lines- I will not able to sleep if I read..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ that is what makes him a great artist.

A true artist has the ability to move the viewer into "feeling" expressions inside of them in which they are compelled to embrace.
that is what makes him a great artist.
************
Will it make him an even GREATER of an artist, PA, if the artist starts doing the same on a human? More specifically ON YOU?
I thought you were "sensitive" and human.
Virgos are once again BETTER THAN YOU PA!

What "ART" did the artist present? What did the artist worked on?
Do you know, great artits actually present the worst picture of a society to make them aware of going them downhill collectively? That makes society to think.
If we feel and enjoy this sort of arts, it's a reflection of our enjoying when some thing alive is in pain. That is nothing but the mirror telling us how unhuman we have become.
This is not an art, this is a publicity stunt. I just signed the petition in the most eye opening words that I can use.
I am a dog lover and since centuries, dogs have served us as our most loyal friends. If this is the treatment we give them, one day will come when we will read in the newpaper that 4/5 dogs killed and ate one human being.
I would like to read that news as for me, that will be JUSTICE served.
This is why I know and believe, we human are worse than most violent animals. This is why when some human is in trouble I do not bother much to help them for I know the ones we may save today will become our enemies tomorrow. I think the super power has been much more generous to humans than they deserve.
I know some dogs have saved their masters and they love kids and become a part of our families faster and easier than other person. Dogs , for that matter, any animal does not deserve this treatment.
This is very very sad, hurtful... plain nonsense.
Any one feeling an "art" in it is devil ,definitely not an "angle"...



"If we feel and enjoy this sort of arts, it's a reflection of our enjoying when some thing alive is in pain. That is nothing but the mirror telling us how unhuman we have become."
Capgirl, I don't feel any joy about what happened to the dog .. in fact, I'm an animal lover and 3 out of my 4 current pets were rescued by me from an abuser.
Your above comment is exactly what this man has shown us in this exhibit .. he sent a message out to the world .. in the last picture, look at the dog and the sad look on his face, and look at all the people standing there completely indifferent to the dogs suffering.
They don't care, capgirl .. they failed to rescue the dog, though they knew what they were seeing was inhumane .. and this is the message of the exhibit that this man wanted all of in this world to comprehend.
We as humans, will have an emotional reaction to what we deem as cruel or wrong ... but, do NOTHING.
I feel sorry for the dog, also .... but, I also feel sorry for those people and animals still alive who are suffering, while we sit here eating our bons bons, talking about it without "acting" to do anything to prevent this actrocity from happening in the world.
People are starving in this world, and feel chained within their society of impoverishment ... did you eat your lunch today?

Starve to a death, that too an animal/the dog that can not speak to us and tell us how bad we are !! On top of it we keep it tied and take any power it may have to defend itself from us - jerk humans. And then we portrait how good and great of an artist he is....worst yet, we show our "smartness" and "sensitivity" of "understanding" the art in depth!!!!! I think every one who visited and allowed the dog to starve till death and did not have guts to stop that are worse than the artist. Artist showed minds of today's people however his idea is a pure cruelty and stupidity.
Killed a dog...
SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK..
"This is why I know and believe, we human are worse than most violent animals. This is why when some human is in trouble I do not bother much to help them for I know the ones we may save today will become our enemies tomorrow."

Point proven .. we will have an emotional reaction .. but, that's all.
When put to the test ... we will say .. "I do not bother much to help"

And that's exactly what happened, and he proved his point ...

... people failed to rescue the dog.
They will jump up and down, throw fits, throw insults, sign petitions, go to the congressman, have total tantrums ...

.. but, still ....

.... FAILED TO RESCUE THE DOG ....
Your above comment is exactly what this man has shown us in this exhibit .. he sent a message out to the world ..
**********
PA: I am disturbed. Do NOT want to talk to u now, as if I do, I will be out of my control and I hate loosing control.
******************
We as humans, will have an emotional reaction to what we deem as cruel or wrong ... but, do NOTHING.
Let me assure you, I WILL DEFINITELY DO SOMETHING ON THIS -WHAT EVER I CAN DO IN THIS MATTER- SO THIS JERK ARTIST DOES NOT GET TO REDO WHAT HE DID THIS TIME.



PA: I am disturbed.

Yes, I know .. most people are, in reality. They will have an emotional reaction, and then shoot the messenger, so they don't have to be aware that they own this exact character trait of indifference to suffering.

"This is why when some human is in trouble I do not bother much to help them"

The man is brilliant ... he has shown us our biggest flaw in life, and did so by moving our emotions into a reality .. we are cruel.
Now, instead of just "flapping jaws" about inhumane we are ... can we put ourselves to the test of honour and actually aid those in distress instead of just bitching about it?
"that's exactly the point of the petition, P-Angel. to prevent it from happening again."

No, that is not the point of the petition, though, you think it is because we as humans merely think we are standing up for a cause, simply because we have an emotional reaction ..

"More than a million people have signed an online petition urging organisers of this year's event to stop Vargas taking part."
You sign a petition that has prevented this man from taking part in the next art exhibit .. it doesn't outline the stopping of cruelty being done to an animal .. it says .. "stop Vargas taking part".
Meaning, signers of this petition may believe they are stopping this man, but, they are not .. they are stopping him from showing them again the agony of the dog, merely because they are having an emotional reaction witout action.
I'm done with you two ... he can only lead you there .. I can only help him lead you there .. you have to be willing to grasp how profound this message is for you, yourself.
I can't make you be a forward thinker, if you choose not to be ..

A self-chain?
If you cannot free yourself ... then how is it possible to free another?
sagitTAUries 4/22/2008 12:34:35 PM | ip: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

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"we are cruel."
no, he is. we are trying to stop him.
"flapping jaws"
no. you are. shut up already.
"can we put ourselves to the test of honour and actually aid those in distress instead of just bitching about it?"
do your part and sign the petition.

I
Here's what you signed in the petition ....

I have read the Boycott to the presence of Guillermo Vargas "Habacuc" at the Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008 Petition to Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008, and I hereby sign the petition:

Sorry, not me, for it only calls for Vargas to not be present at the next exhibit ....
A petition that would STOP an animal abuser ... and my signature would be among them ...

To me that's ignorance for a person to believe that they are preventing an animal from being abused, simply because they cannot comprehend what they read ... like the sign said: You are what you read.
I won't make a superficial stand, and merely "think" I'm making one for a greater good .... sheilding the viewers eye at another art event isn't the greater good .. that's just protecting the people at the art event from having to look at it.
Find a REAL petition that prevents Vargas from killing another dog, and I'll sign ... for that would be a real cause .. one for the animal, and not just one to protect the people, like the one you signed.
P-Angel, the petition has obviously been poorly translated from Spanish. The petition is to prevent him from replicating what was done in the previous instance, not literally just to prevent his presence there. The petition isn't to shield people's eyes from the horrors that occur every day, because most people already have some idea. They just don't feel empowered enough to get directly involved. Most people don't feel as though they are agents of change. I'm not saying that there aren't people out there who don't care an iota for the misfortunes of others (nor appreciate the fortune they have been given by solely their right of birth) and who choose to look away and are more interested in tending to their lawns or going out and getting totally pissed on the weekends. But I for one am very well aware of the unthinkable things that occur in this world and as a result, am an avid animal rights activists as well as a human rights activist. I've dedicated a lot of my life to doing my small part in ensuring that the world is at least a little better when I leave it, which I strongly believe we all have a responsibility for; if we are in a position to give back, we are selfish if we don't.
Nevermind .. you will only see what you want to see. People are what they read .. and if they want to read this petition says it is saving an animal from abuse, when it clearly doesn't say that .. then this is what the person is, because this is what they read.
Again .. his point is made.
I think that usually big turn-arounds in the way people think start with little steps. In this case, I think it is better to sign the petition than not to at all. You are enlarging the awareness of this issue and if this petition is actually successful, then it will be one small step toward a much greater good. Change is a slow process, but it's got to have a beginning.
PA, the artist is just a pseudo-intellectual, attention seeker, who even knows what sort of bs it all was, too bad he was also lacking in the basic conscience that most of us have. And there is nothing more grating than a pseudo-intellectual who thinks they have something profound to say, but which most of us have already known since the time we were ten.
Coincidentally, why does everyone keep hiding their posts?
I can't make you see the larger picture, if you choose not to ... only you can do this for yourself by having a desire to think forward, rather than backwards.
HORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't make you see the larger picture, if you choose not to ... only you can do this for yourself by having a desire to think forward, rather than backwards.
Don't worry, I get it ..the question is whether it is as profound as you make it out to be, and it's not. "When people are faced with uncomfortable issues, they would rather look away than be part of the solution"..wow, deep, he should win a Nobel prize for this. The guy is a self-important opportunist.
I don't make it out to be bigger than it is .. for it is huge.
""When people are faced with uncomfortable issues, they would rather look away than be part of the solution"..wow, deep"
And yes, that is deep .. for it is the truth of people in which they refuse to believe is present within them ..
Over 250,000 people viewed this exhibit .. an nobody rescued the dog.

250 fucking thousand people .. and NOT one of the rescued the dog, yet, would then later come back and say something like, "a pseudo-intellectual who thinks they have something profound to say, but which most of us have already known since the time we were ten." .. and then sign a petition to justify to themselves why they walked by and let the dog die.
It doesn't get more profound than that .... and I can't help it if you can't recognize that .. if you choose to have excuses saying something is warped with this man, while completely ignoring the truth .. the truth being 250,000 people saw this ... and failed to rescue the dog .. then sobeit ..

"it's not my responsibility to prevent a 30 year old man from torturing innocent animals."

His point gets proven constantly ... by nearly every poster who justifies that they themselves when put to the test, wouldn't prevent an atrocity because they don't believe it's their responsibility to do so .. and yet, will indeed carry-on about how horrible it is, while they possessed the power to ACT instead of REACT.
"you clearly indicate that if something annoys you, sometimes the best course of action is to walk away."

I'm not annoyed, I'm actually rattling with the epiphany that this man has attempted to bring to our awareness, and relishing in it.
You are the one annoyed with me ....

***** awareness is key in any situation ******
"you clearly indicate that if something annoys you, sometimes the best course of action is to walk away. and here you are chastizing people for taking that exact course of action."

By course of action of choosing to walk away from something which is annoying in which you say I'm chastizing people for .. is in other words saying .... you are annoyed by what you saw, and prefer to walk away, and therefore upset that I would chastize you for it.
So, it's just an annoyance that this artist has shown to you?
"we have certain legal and social systems that take care of these kinds of issues for us"

Backwards thinking ^^^^^ ......

"it's not my responsibility to prevent a 30 year old man from torturing innocent animals."

Backwards thinking ^^^^^^^^ .....
"Well if the 250,000 people who saw that thought since that is art, so it is OKAY, it would be logical to conclude that they would not lift a finger to do anything for the dog."

Yes, I know .. it's what I've been saying all along, in which nobody can hear me.
They thought it was okay .. that IS the fucking point.
Just like we think it's okay to kill innocents in Iraq ... and we think it's ok to not help another person because one day they might be our enemy, it's okay to not take responsibility for a 30 year old mans bad deed eventhough we see it's wrong, we think it's okay to drive drunk so long as we're not caught ... it's all okay with us, everything is okay so long as we have justification.
It was ok for Ollie North to do what he did because he was only following orders .. it was okay for those 250,000 people to ignore the suffering dog because they were just following ... they would react emotionally without acting on anything to prevent it.
You're attempting to show me a logic in which is the very thing you are missing yourselves ....
"Well if the 250,000 people who saw that thought since that is art, so it is OKAY, it would be logical to conclude that they would not lift a finger to do anything for the dog."

I'm way past that Xun ... is this what you think?
Have all my words in here left to think that that simple concept above has escaped me and I cannot figure out why those people didn't rescue the dog?
I guess I just have to wait for everybody else to catch up.
And yes, that is deep .. for it is the truth of people in which they refuse to believe is present within them ..
Everything is relative, including the depth of our insights. What some may consider deep, may only scratch the surface for some. Honey, that isn't deep, it's something I've known for most of my life. Now, if you must rely on some childish theatrics to gain this sort of insight, than I'm sorry for you, but mostly I'm just sorry people are that f'in thick skulled that it took the suffering of a helpless dog to get it through their heads.
250 fucking thousand people .. and NOT one of the rescued the dog, yet, would then later come back and say something like, "a pseudo-intellectual who thinks they have something profound to say, but which most of us have already known since the time we were ten." .. and then sign a petition to justify to themselves why they walked by and let the dog die.
That's funny, I don't recall being there. But had I been there, the moral of the story would instead have been, "you torture an animal, you get tied to the wall as ALF beats your sorry twisted ass as onlookers watch and laugh".
And as I wrote on the other board, even if it were effective, the ends only justify the means in the minds of a hypocrite, and one who never knew the value of the cause in the first place. You can't say that it's deplorable for a dog to die of starvation, and then be instrumental in allowing a dog to die out of lack of food.


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