Everything you do counts...  

A petition was started by Jaime Sancho to ban the so-called artist Guillermo Habacuc Vargas from representing Costa Rica in the Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008. This petition was started in reaction to Vargas' Exhibit No. 1 at the Galería Códice on August 16, 2007. The exhibit featured a captured starving street dog tied to one corner of the room, a burning large pot (censer) filled with 175 rocks of crack cocaine and marijuana, a stereo playing an anthem in reverse and a few photographs on a sparse wall.

The outrage is in result of the undetermined status of the street dog, named Natividad/Nativity by Vargas in tribute to the Nicaraguan Natividad Canda that died and was devoured by two Rottweiler dogs to in San Jose, Costa Rica on November 10, 2005.

"The important thing for me was the hypocrisy of people: an animal thus becomes the focus of attention when you put in a place where white people go to see art but not when they are on the street dying of hunger. The same happened to Natividad Canda, people were sensitized with him until the dog ate him," Vargas said.

It is undetermined if the dog was fed, roamed free, died or escaped from the facility. The fact remains, Guillermo Habacuc Vargas did capture a dog, tied it to a corner, take photos of it, exposed it to toxic burning chemicals all in the name of art and controversy.

I ask that you decide what to do here. There is over 350,000 signatures on the following petition to request that GH Vargas be banned from representing his country. I urge you to do what is right in your heart. We may never know what really happened to that poor defenseless dog without a voice, but we can make sure that the captor finds his karma.

http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html

Rough English translation of the petition:

To: Bienal Centroamericana Hondura 2008
September 14, 2007

Of the Newspaper the Nation of Costa Rica we read: http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/septiembre/14/aldea1239344.html

In the middle of controversy, the Costa Rican Biennial of Visual Arts (Bienarte) 2007 last night inaugurated a strict and small work selection and awarded six artists with happens to represent the country in the Central American Biennial Honduras 2008. The artists awarded in this sixth edition of the prestigious appointment of contemporary art were Errol Barrantes, Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, Oscar Figueroa, Mimiam Hsu, Esteban Stone and "the band of the submerge-emergent ones" (Sila Chanto and Jhafis Quintero). The jury, integrated by Ana Sokoloff (Colombia), Oliver Debroise (Mexico) and Rodolfo Kronfle Chambers (Ecuador), chose with work base of great quality and excellent coherence between idea and execution, according to detailed. the Bienarte is organized by the Industralists by the Art.

One of the "artists", Guillermo Habacuc Vargas (http://www.marcaacme.com/blogs/analog/index.php/2007/08/22/5_piezas_de_habacuc) allowed the death of a dog by starvation during the event. He is inadmissible that pisoteen of this form the rights of the animals and that the "artist" had gathered it of the street to let it die moored with a cord to the wall of the gallery where he refused to not feed it or even save it.

From http://www.marcaacme.com/blogs/analog/index.php/2007/08/22/5_piezas_de_habacuc
"According to I knew the dog died on the following day by lack of food. During the inauguration I knew that the dog was persecuted in the evening between the houses of aluminum and cardboard of a district of Managua with santo name who Habacuc that could not need at the moment. 5 children of whom they helped in the capture received 10 bonds of córdobas by their collaboration. During the exhibition some people requested the freedom of the small dog, to which he artist refused himself. The name of the dog was (it was) Natividad, and I let myself to him die of at sight hunger of all, as if the death of a poor dog was a shameless mediatic show in which nobody does nothing else that to applaud or to watch disturbed."

Nothing we can do by this dog but if to treat of which the organizers of the Central American Biennial Honduras 2008 do not admit this "maltratador artist" of animals. I request to you please adhere to this request and that you spread the news of this shameful act to gather the maximum of companies and to veto it in the Biennial.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

Sources:
http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/septiembre/14/aldea1239344.html
http://www.galeriacodice.com/index.php?id=30
http://www-usa.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2007/octubre/24/noticias/cartas/
http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-06-10-2007/abc/Cultura/la-provocacion-repugnante_1641072053110.html
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2007/octubre/05/noticias/revista/219438.shtml''
http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html
http://ea6gk.blogspot.com/