Thursday March 20, 2008, 11:51 am
SORRY, DIDN'T WORK--HERE IS THE E-MAIL:

WSPA, a "surprising" email
One of my collaborators has sent me this letter from Claudia Rocío Medina, Manager of the WSPA office. It is addressed to Pilar.


"Pilar

Good Day:

Following up on the matter of Guillermo Vargas exhibiting in Honduras, I wish to let you know that our Costa Rica Office made direct contact with the Minister of Art and Culture, who confirmed that Mr. Vargas will be participating in the Biennale, and exhibiting something different to what he presented in Nicaragua, which means that he will not be using an animal this time, and therefore the Ministry will not prohibit his participation.



Yours truly,

CLAUDIA ROCIO MEDINA.
Biol, Esp. MSc*
Office Manager

WSPA
World Society for the Protection of Animals"

I call on Mrs. Rocío, if the text is not correct, to deny it.



The email is loaded. Without going thoroughly into it, and given that 400,000 new signatures have been affixed to the petition by people who may not know the whole story, I would just recall the following:


1 - On 16th October I read in the "La Nación" Costa Rican newspaper that an artist had put a sick and starving dog to die of hunger, tied to the walls of the Códice Gallery in Managua (Nicaragua). The dog was displayed as part of his "art", in direct contravention of international animal rights contained in the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS. If this had occurred in another part of the world Mr. Vargas would now be in prison, but in Costa Rica he was rewarded.

2 - In September 2007 in the Biennale of Costa Rican Art (Bienarte) the judges, consisting of Ana Sokoloff (Colombia), Oliver Debroise (México) and Rodolfo Kronfle Chambers (Ecuador), chose Vargas as one of the six artists to represent his country in the Central American Biennale Honduras 2008. This in spite of the fact that Mr. Vargas, one month previously, had ill-treated a living being in order to present his "work of art".

3 - The case of the cat-eater: WSPA and ANPA both brought matters to court. The events happened in July of 2007. WSPA made a report to the Public Prosecutor in Cañas, Guanacaste, and on 27th July ANPA made a formal complaint to the Court of Infringements in Cañas, Guanacaste against Douglas Barahona, who had been introduced to the public in the "Extra" newspaper as the 'cat-eater',

4 - Dr. Oscar Arias, VIP animal activist. On 5th March last, WSPA reserved for Dr. Oscar Rafael de Jesús Arias Sánchez, President of Costa Rica, the opportunity to be the millionth signatory to the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, an international agreement which for the first time would unite the various governments in the recognition of the fact that animals are important, but dealing only with the necessities of animals from a scientific point of view without recognizing any of their legal rights, such as the right to life.


5 - Without being a formal organization, by simply exposing the facts of the case, stimulating people's consciences, demanding justice for a creature who has been ill-treated, and the assurance that it will not occur again, at this time more than 957,549 people are calling for Guillermo Vargas to be excluded from the Central American Biennale Honduras 2008, as the minimum acceptable penance for the acts he committed against a living being.

And in spite of these nearly ONE MILLION signatures, WSPA "surprises" us with Mrs. Rocío's email. That the world association for the protection of animals should accept the abuser Vargas' participation in the Biennale, with a work of art different to that presented in Nicaragua, which means that this time he will not use an animal, is "surprising".

It is surprising because this association is supposed to protect, defend and promote animal welfare. The logical reaction of WSPA would have been to immediately press charges, following the abuse perpetrated by a Costa Rican citizen on a sick and starving dog. Not only have they not done that, but they are in agreement that as long as he does not use another animal in another work of art, he should go unpunished.

The haughty Mr. Vargas has not begged for forgiveness, nor has he tried to excuse himself in any way, but in spite of this, in the email received, the Minister of Art and Culture of Costa Rica and Mrs. Rocío as the WSPA representative, forgive him. If WSPA had brought charges, would she still have pardoned him?



It must be surprising that it did not occur to the Minister of Art and Culture of Costa Rica, and to Mrs. Rocío, that Vargas dedicated himself, a few days before the opening of the Central American Biennale, to pursuing a sick and starving dog through the streets of Honduras, catching him and tying him to the walls of the gallery to wait for him to die of hunger – or to escape right in front of the nose of the guard on duty. Does the Minister really think this is feasible, or is it an attempt to find a way out of a situation they don't know how to resolve, a situation so unprecedented and significant, that it would put the authorities of Costa Rica, Honduras and all the patrons in a very uncomfortable situation, depending on what decision is reached.



Besides, WSPA uses different yardsticks for different cases, as for example: Mr. Douglas Barahona, also a Costa Rican citizen, the "cat-eater" – he is a poor man, possibly ill, possibly a drug addict, who possibly gave the interview to get some money. Make no mistake, I am not defending his actions. But WSPA brought a court action against him in Cañas, Guanacaste. To date, there is no information available as to whether justice has been served - more than likely not.


Mr. Guillermo Vargas, on the other hand, is an "artist" who enjoys the support of the well-known architect Ronald Zürcher, President of the Association of Art Impresarios, of the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, and now we know that he is also backed by the Minister of Art and Culture of Costa Rica. With all that going for him, it must be uncomfortable for WSPA to present any kind of report about Vargas or to participate in the campaign to exclude him from the Biennale. And it shouldn't surprise us that neither will they encourage the recently-honoured MILLIONTH animal activist to refuse to allow the abuser Vargas to represent Costa Rica this coming November.



In the only press release so far from WSPA, they say "At the same time, we believe that this should be an opportunity to encourage all those who have reacted to this act with indignation, to take steps to support the welfare and protection of animals, not only by reporting cruelty cases, but by endorsing the work of the many national and international organizations which labour on a daily basis to improve living conditions for the animals in our country and in the whole world".



I say to you, WSPA officials, that ONE MILLION people are now taking action for the welfare and protection of animals, demanding that those who violate the rights of animals should be called to account. You yourselves have said, in reference to Vargas ". . . that cruelty to animals, in whatever form and for whatever purpose, is in itself a repugnant act, punishable by the Criminal Code of Costa Rica, as well as by the laws of many other countries". Why, then, do you not press charges against Vargas? Because of his connections?


No matter how many times it is repeated, there will still be people like the Minister of Art and Culture, and Mrs. Rocío, who don't understand this: we who care about animals do not accept ill-treatment inflicted on living beings, in any form, or in any name. Those who do not meet these standards should be charged, to the full extent of the relevant laws of each country, and if there are no such laws, those established by the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights. Mr. Guillermo Vargas cannot and should not go unpunished – otherwise the door will be flung wide open for any other atrocity to be committed in the name of art.

I suppose that for those who at some point have questioned the veracity of the acts, or who have wondered whether it is just an urban legend, or even that the photos of the dog were a clever photographic montage, the words of the Minister of Art and Culture of Costa Rica, and always according to Mrs. Rocío, member of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), that "he will be participating in the Biennale, and exhibiting something different to what he presented in Nicaragua, which means that he will not be using an animal this time, and therefore the Ministry will not prohibit his participation" will not leave them in any doubt whatsoever that Guillermo Vargas DID ABUSE a dog in Nicaragua, and far from being punished for it, he is being rewarded.





--
Jaime Sancho
www.ea6gk.org

Thursday March 20, 2008, 12:24 pm
OMG!!! So the animal abuser gets handed another exhibition for his crime!! Absolutely disgusted. I hope somebody who is around there lets that gallery know in no uncertain terms what we think of that!!!!!!!!!
I am passing this on thanx Brenda!!!

Thursday March 20, 2008, 12:37 pm
So what I gather from letter. He has been stopped from this horrific act for any future so called art expo's. I pray that he never does this again. I would love just five minutes with this ass and how can people just walk by and not do something. I am still in shock when this story first came out. People are so afraid to step on other peoples toes. This is why crime and crueltly so high now a days. People dont stand up for what they believe in.

Thursday March 20, 2008, 1:13 pm
This is ridiculous. Vargas should not be allowed to participate in any exhibits anywhere! I am so disgusted. A protest needs to be organized outside the exhibit. Lets see how popular Vargas remains if he's the reason people don't go to the exhibit.

Thursday March 20, 2008, 2:58 pm
Outrageous!
The man should be barred from exhibiting
anywhere based on general priniciples!
Thanks, Brenda, especially for posting
the letter. :-))
noted.

Thursday March 20, 2008, 3:23 pm
This man is using animals in promoting his art works by drawing attention to them. Best for all of us is to ignore him as any kind of an artist. His other art works are nothing, not even worth spitting on them, not even worth looking at. Don't give him any satisfactions by protesting. That is what he wants - publicity.

TY, Brenda.

Thursday March 20, 2008, 3:48 pm
NOTED I DID SEE THIS BEFORE TY

Thursday March 20, 2008, 5:46 pm
Brenda, just been sent this:
http://www.madc.ac.cr/mambo452/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=65&func=view&id=61&catid=8
Its the forum about this but it's all in spanish. Dya know anyone who can read it and tell us whats going on?

Friday March 21, 2008, 3:13 am
Perhaps he can be the exhibit and go through the so called art as he did to the dog.SOB.

Friday March 21, 2008, 9:20 am
Noted !

Friday March 21, 2008, 11:19 am
NEW E-MAIL TODAY--PLEASE SEND LETTERS!

Subject: The Honourable Minister of Art and Culture Costa Rica.
The Honourable Minister of Art and Culture

Mrs. Maria Elena Carballo

mcarballo@mcj.go.cr
gretana@mcj.go.cr

Dear Minister:



It has come to my attention that Mrs. Claudia Rocio (WSPA) has made a statement to the effect that the office in Costa Rica "made direct contact with the Minister of Art and culture" and that the Minister said "…Mr. Vargas' presentation at the Biennale will be different to the one shown in Nicaragua, which means that this time no animal will be used, and for this reason the Ministry will not prohibit his participation".



In this connection, I wish to state the following:



It is out of the question that Mr. Vargas would devote himself to pursuing ANOTHER sick and starving dog through the streets of Honduras, to capture it and show it as a piece of art in the Central American Biennale in the coming month of November. No thinking person could conceive of this, and I am sure that you have not even contemplated the possibility of it happening again.



For you not to prohibit the participation of this person in the Central American Biennale based on something that he WILL NOT do, as opposed to something that HE DID, is in my opinion an absurdity. It also seems illogical that the president of Costa Rica, Dr. Oscar Arias, on 5th March last was the millionth person to sign the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, and yet you allow someone who openly ill-treats animals to represent your country. If you are not willing to stop him participating, perhaps it is Dr. Oscar Arias himself who should take the responsibility of doing it, bearing in mind the commitment he made when he affixed his signature.



ONE MILLION THIRTEEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND ELEVEN (1,013,611) people are calling for this petition to be acted upon, and the rationale is very simple: Given that Mr. Vargas is not going to be sanctioned for the ill-treatment which he inflicted on a living being in the Códice Gallery in Managua last August, neither should he be honoured by being chosen to represent his country in the 2008 Central American Biennale.



How many more people will have to sign before you pay attention to the voices of outrage coming to you from all parts of the globe?



Yours sincerely,



Name

Country

Friday March 21, 2008, 11:27 am
THIS IS ALSO "UNBELIEVEABLE" SIGNING OF "ANIMALS MATTER TO ME PETITION!!

Nobel Laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was the official one millionth signatory. Every country in the world is now represented on the petition, which also has the active support of more than 200 animal welfare organisations globally.

To celebrate, President Sanchez will be hosting a celebration of animals in Costa Rica in March as part of the country's Peace For Nature environmental initiative.

Friday March 21, 2008, 12:19 pm
God I am so sick of hypocrisy and brown nosing. Why can't people do what they say and say what they mean. Politicians are the slimiest bunch of people on this planet!! If this exhibition goes ahead with that scum in it I wouldn't vouch for his safety or the galleries. It is completely stupid!!

Sunday March 30, 2008, 2:59 pm
someone should tie them up and starve them.

Saturday April 12, 2008, 4:33 pm
To the perverbial sheep among us, IT"S A HOAX
http://marielouiseplum.blogspot.com/2008/04/starving-dog-as-art-gallery-confirm.html
http://thepetextraordinarium.blogspot.com/2008/03/starving-dog-exhibit-reported-as-hoax.html

Sunday April 13, 2008, 10:38 pm
MIKE E.--STOP TROLLING--IT IS NOT A HOAX--YOU ARE!!

Monday April 14, 2008, 2:31 am
So there are two BLOGS saying that this was a hoax. Why are there no newspaper reports? Why is it not posted on SNOPES as a hoax?
If all along this was the intention don't you think they would have proof that the dog is alive and well?
Vargas has shown the kind of person he is all through this, he has ducked and dived and made all kinds of excuses. Why would he wait so long even through death threats before stating it was a hoax.
No way! The artists is a HOAX and the gallery are just as stupid as he is if they expect us to believe this.
Show us the proof.

Friday April 25, 2008, 12:45 am
Everyone is so concentrated on how awful Vargas is, but what about all those people who went to this exhibit and did NOTHING?!