A profound invisible red line has just been crossed. A deliberately staged public murder was presented and, more importantly, accepted as art.

Costa Rican artist Guillermo Vargas Habakkuk starved to death sick stray dog as part of his media sponsored social commentary themed installation. For this achievement a panel of distinguished jurors of a prestigious international “Biennale Centroamericana Honduras 2008″ chose him to represent his country among an elite group of leading contemporary artists of the region.

A Rubicon has been crossed to a deafening silence of the “official” art world. The animal rights groups are rightfully recoiled, but the international art establishment is eerily quiet. Yet silence is not an option now. Where are the aesthetic gurus, the cultural rebels, the intellectual titans? There is a lot to reexamine now.

In the death of an innocent being the art community is

guilty by instigation,

guilty by association,

guilty by silence

Unless we as a society will dramatically change our concept of artistic achievement - this is only a beginning…

Shock is mediocrity’s clime to fame. Since the very moment of the Death of the Dog it is one of two things:

either shock has nothing to do with art or killing in public is art,

there is nothing in between.

The Death of the Dog is the Death of Reining Relativism, The Death of long glorified Shock, The Death of meager mediocrity that depends on them.

Behold the Dog.

Alexey Steele

Artist

Unanimous: These Are My Weapons Photo by Lemuel