Starving dog exhibit divides the world

Following our recent coverage of the controversial ‘starving dog’ exhibit, we undertook a poll to measure how people feel about the artist and his work. The results have revealed that there is a massive divide in public opinion, and that as many people feel that the artist did all he could to raise awareness of an important issue as those who would like to see him sanctioned.

The controversy surrounds the work of modern artist Guillermo 'Habacuc' Vargas who, in October 2007, took a starving dog from the streets of Nicaragua and tied it in a gallery allegedly without food, water or bedding to die in front of the gallery’s visitors. He later stated that the exhibit was intended to be conceptual art to emphasize the public’s hypocrisy in making an issue of the starving dog in a gallery but ignoring the same occurrence on the streets. Largely unreported at the time, a global storm blew up recently when Vargas was invited to represent his country, Costa Rica, in the Bienal Centroamericana Honduras multinational art exhibition. The Pet Extraordinarium was one of the first to report a statement from Juanita Bermudez of the Codice Gallery in Nicaragua that the dog was in fact fed, watered and cared for and that it did not die.

The results of the poll highlight the huge gulf in public opinion surrounding the artwork. While 23% of the respondents agreed that Vargas bought much-needed attention to the plight of street dogs in Central America and did all he could, 22% agreed with the polar opposite statement: “He’s evil and should be subjected to the same treatment as the dog”.

The full results are as follows:

Question: How do you feel about Guillermo Habacuc Vargas' 'starving dog' exhibit?

He achieved his goal and brought much-needed attention to the issue;
he’s only an artist and did all that he could..........................................................................23%
He could have used the publicity to instigate more action after the event......................15%He failed to bring attention to the subject as the message was lost
among the hysteria...................................................................................................................14%
He did this as a publicity stunt for his own gain, not to assist the plight
of street dogs.............................................................................................................................11%
Despite the publicity they generated, his actions are in no way justified.......................12%He’s evil and should be subjected to the same treatment as the dog...........................22%

Number of respondents: 876

The depth of feeling over this story has astounded us. The article reporting the statement from the Codice Gallery has received over 45,000 hits from 127 countries around the entire globe at present, which highlights how animal lovers the world over have taken this story to heart. Comments on the articles we have run on the story have ranged from intelligent and considered comment to vehement anger and abuse.

The diversity in responses to the poll is also revealing. All of the options were taken directly from comments left on our blog, and we didn’t expect the deviation to be so great. Particularly with the statement that Vargas is evil, for so many people to agree with this is astonishing.

The circumstances surrounding the exhibition remain unclear due to many conflicting media reports, and an investigation by the World Society for the Protection of Animals has so far not uncovered its true nature, whether the dog was mistreated, whether it suffered or whether it did in fact die. As things stand currently, however, the artist will be representing Costa Rica in the Bienal Centroamericana this year.

In closing, two million people may have signed an online petition, a Facebook group may have 230,000 members, and the entire blogosphere may have talked about Guillermo Vargas for a month, but ask yourself this: what’s changed? Are street dogs in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica any better off now? Has the massive armchair protest achieved anything?

And as for Vargas himself, it appears that we may never know the truth of what happened at the Codice Gallery. But though he may have had his fifteen minutes of fame, even if the dog was treated like royalty while in his care and even if it escaped the gallery rather than was let go, he will still always be remembered as “the man that starved a dog to death”. Whether his work is incisive and valid social commentary or merely a second-rate, amateurish attempt at conceptual art that borders on the inane is something only you can decide...

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Posted: 14 May 2008