Since when is starving a dog to death ART?

[gkg]

http://www.popgive.com/2008/03/since-when-starving-dog-to-death-is.html

 I don\'t think I need to comment... y\'all can think for yourselves.

:\'(

[buswolley]

I don\'t see how you could walk past that and not do anything; the viewers are as disturbed as the artist!  I agree with the first comment, "sick motherfu*ker!"  
But on a side note, I didn\'t think cutting a cow into sections was art either...

[gkg]

even in the guise of conceptual work, i just can\'t wrap brain cells around this one.  i can sort of see the conceptual aspect of the cow... sort of... more easily perhaps because it died a a more humane death prior to its exhibition as \'art\'.

someone i know is trying to find proof that this was a publicity stunt and the dog was actually cared for - nice idea, but so far he hasn\'t been able to do so - his fav source, Snopes, can\'t even say this was definitely a hoax.  here\'s hoping it was.  sadly, the image of that dog tells me otherwise...

[Duckhead]

I just got to this today and all I can say is WTF! I hope it was a publicity stunt. As much as I am disgusted by it,  it makes me think about a point that the wanna-be artist could have made. First thing I think of is a saying that goes something like "one death is a tragedy, hundreds of deaths are a statistic". This dog may have died a undeserved death but how many thousands of dogs and cats are left uncared for to die every day or sent to the pound with a one way ticket to lethal injection because the owner doesn\'t want a pet anymore. Most people do nothing about it, turn a blind eye, Just like the people at the gallery who viewed this.

Second thought is - What would have happened to the dog if it was left on the street, sick and diseased and then bit someone. It would be put to sleep (humanely I\'m sure), but no-one would bat an eye.

now to get a little deeper & off topic...... did you know that in the US animals had rights before children?? It was only about 50 years ago that kids got rights. Don\'t quote me on this but the story goes something like a lady called the local police department (or related agency) and said they had a 4 year old small animal that was being abused by her husband. When the officer came out to the house he was presented with a small child who had been repeatedly beaten and malnurished. The officer said "yeah, this is a smal animal being abused". The case went to court and child abuse laws were put into place.

For me it is common sense to respect all living creatures, but unfortunately lots of people live their whole life without getting it (as this "death-dog artist" has shown us). If this guy was a real artist he could have shown how to save a dying dogs life, that would take compassion, planning, creativeness and hope -THATwould be ART.

[buswolley]

I saw a new release yesterday that said California\'s pet adoption agencies have seen a 30% increase in relinquishing rights, because of the housing crash.  People are loosing their homes and in the process have no way to care for loved pets.  They showed a clip of an owner in tears signing away his dog.  I can\'t wait to get my $300.00 and everything will be all better.

G, I guess I should have written a caveat.  I don't view the cow or horse, or shark, or whatever the guy wants to cut in half as abusive.  I just don\'t see it as art.  Rhetorically speaking, what has he actually put in the piece that makes it more than exploiting something that nature as already created?  

Question to ponder (anyone): If the dog had been feed, would that have made it art?

[Duckhead]

I view art as the creation of something not the destruction. Just feeding the dog wouldn\'t be art, but nurturing it back to health from the brink of death could be viewed as art in some conceptual context.

[gkg]

Bus... no, i didn\'t think you meant abuse, i was just saying for me because it wasn\'t abuse it was easier for me to think abstractly about it.  i can be very pragmatic, but abuse puts blinkers on me.  i think the contribution Hirst made to the cow was adding context - not a huge contribution in my view of the piece, and i have to say mostly if it had an impact on me it was that the context allowed me to think of the interior of the cow (shark, etc) in terms of design.  

i\'ve always marveled at the beauty of such creatures on an exterior level, with no help from Hirst, but i\'d not really spent time marvelling at the interior.

it\'s art, but not \'great art\' to me...  i\'m sure to those who\'ve studied art appreciation, that statement is just a display of my ignorance - and i\'m ok with that.

i\'m with Duckhead - the art would have been in nurturing the dog back to a healthy life... although the act of feeding can be an art... as the Japanese have shown, any small act can be elevated to the level of art.  the tea ceremony can be a subtlely stunning performance.

[buswolley]

ooooh, tea ceremony, good example!

[gkg]

;o)

[DawnoftheBucket]

that is absolutely horrible. I can\'t believe no one did anything. I definitely signed that petition. Probably cause sometimes I care more for animals than humans. kinda like Buckethead! haha.

[Aequitas]

What the h-e-double hockey sticks is that promoting?