The Starving Dog Artist: A Diagnosis

I'm asked to comment on psychiatric diagnoses all the time, from Robert Blake by Nancy Grace, to astronaut Lisa Nowak by Soledad O'Brien. I've done the prognosis for everyone from children of polygamist cults to American's Dumbest Criminals on TruTV. For the last two weeks my mailbox has filled with queries about "the starving dog artist."

For those of you that haven't gotten the email, there's one going 'round asking you to sign the petition seeking to prevent Guillermo Vargas from representing Costa Rica in an upcoming multinational art exhibition (Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008). His display of August 2007 in Nicaragua that featured a stray dog captured from the streets and confined on a bare art gallery floor without food, water, or bedding until it starved to death. The artist's goal was supposedly to show the hypocrisy of people's making a sick and ill-fed dog the center of attention at an art exhibit despite the fact that many of them would ignore the same dog on the streets.

Diagnosis: At the very least Vargas has traits of antisocial personality disorder, grandiose and narcissistic personality disorder, and a peppering of delusions.

The line between chronicling cruelty and staging is clear to most. Treating the dog as an object, for "art's" sake shows pathological malevolence. And, though I know I'll get slack for saying this, I'll go so far as to say that dying dog + letters made from dog food on the wall + furnace burning 175 vials of crack + the Sandinista hymn playing backward, does not art make.

His sadism is apparent not only in his treatment of the dog, but in his mocking of the audience. If he had really been trying to make a well thought out point regarding how we choose our charities (which is a fascinating topic) he still might have donated funds toward an overwhelmed local shelter -- or at least let us know about it. Fact is the Humane Society is backed by 10 million Americans, PETA has 1.8 million members, and the ASPCA has 680,000. Are there rules that need to be changed and lives that need to be saved all over the world? Yes. Absolutely. But he doesn't strike me as part of the solution, in any way.

The bottom line is that it is much harder to make art that is inspirational, controversial, and empowering (this hot mess of a show sounded like the leftovers of a meth lab raid). It's much easier to shock people with ugliness or cruelty and then pride yourself that you are misunderstood and edgy. I would guess there is a theme in Vargas' life related to not belonging (with his family and/or with his peers) and he's probably never experienced himself as original, clever, or talented.

Someone called him the "Michael Vick of Art."

Many people have asked me, "What do we do with the sad helplessness that this kind of news makes us feel?" Firstly, stop calling him an artist. Secondly, write hard copy letters to Ministry of Art and Culture of Costa Rica and to museum officials that chose to continue to showcase him. Thirdly, donate to the shelter where the dog was caught and support The World Society for the Protection of Animals. And lastly, go see some real inspiring productions -- something like Koyaniskatsi, or one of Eve Ensler's productions, or you might be able to still get into Burning Man if you hurry.

Comments

[serialcoma]

He should chain himself to the floor and starve to death.. that makes a point. Mistreating an animal to feed your ego is despicable and I hope he spends a significant amount of time in jail.

[goplayrabbit]

Juanita Bermúdez, director of the Códice Gallery, insisted Natividad escaped after just one day. She said: '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.'

http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.laprensa.com.ni%2Farchivo%2F2007%2Foctubre%2F05%2Fnoticias%2Frevista%2F219438.shtml&langpair=es%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

your reporting is erroneous as the dog was actually fed and was eventually released. that said, i disagree with his "artistic" point - which was to reflect the hypocrisy of people. he himself was hypocritical, for this reason: he said most people wouldn't pay attention to starving dogs on the street but would to starving dogs as art; his point would've been much more punctual had he not then re-released the dog - back onto the street - to then, most likely, starve to death.

[XCITIZEN]

WOO HOO - well, that blows the top off of that, eh? I guess we can all eat crow now - or at least a tofu -subsititute. Tofurkey anyone?

[Blurp]

I can see how this guy thinks he's an artist. There are sick people in the world. What I can't understand is why not one of the attendees did a thing to help this poor creature, to end this monstrosity. Life is cheap. Very sad, very disturbing.

[quintus]

Yes, excellent point! No one was outraged? No one felt moved to try and put a stop to this monstrous act? Reminds me of all those who simply bury their heads in the sand when what they are witnessing is screaming at them to stand up and put a stop to it, i.e., those in Germany who knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews and kept silent!

[Paintingislife]

How does this "artist" get his funding for such atrocities? Grants from the Costa Rican government? Endowments? Private donations?

[Melchedekan]

I hope everyone viewing this article with a real sense of opposition to this blatent act of animal cruelty will sign the petition.

[Pippilangstrumpf]

www.snopes.com says that the status of this story is undetermined.
Some say that the dog was made to look like it was abused, but after hours, when the public was not inside, the dog was properly cared for.
I thought I had heard it all...I hope beyond words that this story will be proven to be a hoax.

[BrianBoyko]

The "Starving Dog Artist" story is a hoax.

Sorry, Dr. Vranich, but you've been fooled.

[Melchedekan]

How do you figure it to be a hoax? Anyone interested in seeing some photos of the murdered dog should follow this link. http://www.tinkin.com/blog/?p=188

[mediatron]

Oh? The dog is alive in all those pictures. That's what emaciated dogs look like and they run rampant in the streets of Nicaragua.

[fantagor]

"Artists" who submerge crucifixes in urine or starve dogs to death or induce miscarriages are the rappers of the art world. They have nothing by way of talent. They rely solely on gimmicks or the talents of others then posture and pose like an "artiste" waiting for the adulation and praise to wash over them.

Do what I do: turn toe, present back and walk away. Translation: kiss my ass, you untalented spider monkeys. Some of us are in fact talented and find your desperate importuning for 15 minutes of fame droll, lugubrious and pathetic. Your “art” is a priori irrelevant, and you, by virtue of your actions, are plainly taken to childish tantrums, paroxysms of bombastic expression deemed by your warped brain as art out of the weakest raison d’etre of all, because “others won’t get it”. We do. You’re a pretentious git, or in this case, worse than pretentious but monstrous.

Randy

[abigail1]

don't put the Piss Christ in the same category as the starving dog or the woman who induced miscarriages. Serrano submerged a plastic statue in some pee. it offended a lot of people, but it didn't hurt anyone or anything.

[SusanRen]

I think they have art and cruelty confused.

[YankeeCanuck]

There is a link in the article "starving dog artist" that leads to the original article where you can sign a petition to ban this artist from the Bienal de Centroamerica-- a multi-nation art exhibit.

The writer's suggestion of hard copy letters is even more effective, although not instant.

The difference between this dog, and a stray on the street is that the stray is free to fend for itself and scavenge, admittedly not a nice life, but not one deliberately subjected to wilfully inflicted pain and cruelty.
How we treat the undefended speaks volumes-- be they human or animal.

There are ways for us to formalise our compassion for others. We can donate monthly to organisations like animal shelters, Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International to name a few.

[LiberalBuzz]

He needs to be in prison for the rest of his miserable life and I do hope he shows his face here in Santa Barbara, because I would have no problem in asking for his arrest for such cruel and inhumane behaviour all in the name of what he so sickeningly calls art. And then sent to San Quentin for a few months. This sort of behaviour, to prisoners, is just slightly above child molesters. THEN see what his 'art' brings him.

He is a disgusting human being and I use the term loosely. As well what the hell is wrong with the people who allowed this to happen right before their eyes? AND the government for allowing it? And didn't anyone contact the local animal rights people???

Seems to me this creepy person was supported in his efforts by the entire nation of Puerto Rico.

[Idytme]

Obviously this person is sick. But this could not have happened without the consent of a lot of people. I don't know how to express this without sounding like a right wing fundie - which I am not - but having observed part of the art world through a cousin who is a top artist, there is something very wrong with the everything-is-art attitude of some of the art world.
While in my cousins case, some of what she declared as art was innocent and laughable, a few headlines lately has shown how downright dangerous and absurd this can be.
That regular people would allow this dog to starve in the name of "art" is more disturbing to me than the psychotic person doing it. What was their excuse? Where was there reasoning? Why didn't they draw the line and stop it?

[greatgal]

Gee, if he truly wanted a to start a discussion, he should have chained himself to the wall starved himself to death!

[BushBites]

That's one guy who actually deserves Abu Ghraib.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Truly demented.
Both "artist" and audience.

[nycjmp]

Thanks Doc for posting this......­and another thank you to Deb, the rescuer who also did something positive after reading this horrific story.. see link below:
http://www.fetchdog.com/blogs/nosetotheground/General/dog_rescuer_responds_to_cruel

[NoSillyName]

Animal lovers and anyone with a heart, click on this link at your own peril:

http://guillermohabacucvargas.blogspot.com/

There are email addresses to the gallery that housed this abomination, the international show that's honoring this "artist", and links to the petition.