Someone sent me an e-mail today regarding this horrible atrocity. It actually happened in 2007 so maybe you have already heard about it, but I hadn't. In August, a Costa Rican artist named Guillermo Vargas (also known as "Habacuc") hunted a stray dog, tied it with a short length of cord to one of the walls of the gallery he was showing at in Nicaragua, and proceeded to let the dog suffer from thirst and starvation. He called his "exhibit" "You are what you read." Vargas claims the dog was already emaciated when he captured it and that it was only tied up for three hours. He also claims to have fed the dog himself. Either way, his use of an animal as "art," considering the condition the dog was in, is horrifying. There are photos on the web but I won't repost them here.

According to the e-mail I received, Vargas would be representing Costa Rica at the Central American Biennial later this year to recreate this particular piece of art. However, further research on the internet states he will be showing another piece there. If you'd like to sign a petition to urge the people who run the Biennial to uninvite Vargas, click here.