Dog Death Art
Guillermo Vargas: the Man who Killed a Dog in the Name of Art
In August, 2007 a poor puppy dog, knapped from the streets of Nicaragua was tied up for days on end without food, water, bedding. In a twisted “art exhibit” by monster “artist” Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, the dog was tied on a short leash and left to starve to death—underneath the words “Eres Lo Que Lees” (“you are what you read”) written on the wall with dog food.
For almost a year now, the story has been circulating the internet and being passed on from animal lover to animal lover by word of mouth. Newspapers continue to publishing editor’s letters pleading people to pay attention to the atrocities that were committed in Códice Gallery in Managua, Nicaragua.
Dog death hoax?
The story of torment, torture and death, however, seems a little difficult to prove.
There are many bloggers and youtubers that swear the story is true, but there are a few unbelievers here in cyberspace that say the whole thing was just a hoax—an urban legend.
The gallery says the dog ran away after being tied up during opening hours.
“It was untied all the time except for the three hours the exhibition lasted and it was fed regularly with dog food Habacuc himself brought in,” Juanita Bermúdez, director of the gallery told the Guardian.
Petition
But over 2.5 million people (or 1.5 million, depending on which version of the online petition you find) around the world and counting –animal rights activists and bleeding hearts alike believe Natividad the dog was starved and murdered. Either way, they are erring on the side of caution.
Vargas has apparently been invited to 2008 Bienal Centroamericana in Honduras, to repeat the exhibition (with a different dog, of course). The petition, which is linked to dozens of blogs, is being signed in hopes of banning this award winning “artist” from representing his country.
Searching for Information
It is very easy to find information about Vargas by simply typing his name (Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, Guillermo "Habakkuk" Vargas, Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, or any variation thereof) into your preferred search engine. “Dog torture art” or variations will also yield plenty of results. But the pages it brings up are blogs. And as we know, in a blog anyone can write anything about anything or anyone.
What is more difficult to find by doing a Google search, however, is a personal web page for Vargas, or information on the “2008 Bienal Centroamericana.” The only thing that seems to come up are more blogs and versions of the petition.
What’s in a Name?
The only thing that seems to be certain in all this is that Vargus, Habacuc, whatever his name may be (some sites say his real name is Guillermo Vargas Jiménez) has truly made a name for himself. It’s not necessarily a good name, but word of the crazy guy who tied up a dog and called it art—is spreading. Via the world wide web.
Oh, and he apparently lit 175 pieces of crack cocaine and an ounce of marijuana in an incense burner while playing the Sandinista anthem backwards. According to one site, his other exhibitions include live pornography and prostitution via a web cam, which was allegedly paid for by the Spanish government.
We’ve read it. But do we believe it? Perhaps the crazy guy’s right; maybe we really are what we read. Maybe not.
