A letter for Mr. Varga, por Art Nolimits

the death of this dog cannot be the end of it

2007, 3 de Diciembre | Agrega un comentario

We are a small group of art collectors. We will remain anonymous for reasons you will soon understand. Last week we discussed for hours your now famous starving dog-work. Two among us curse you for it; the other two are fascinated by the huge controversy. But all of us agree that the death of this dog cannot be the end of it.


We declare this an ongoing art project. We imagine the message and the impact if Habacuc were to die the way this street dog did. We visualize the picture of your starved body chained to a wall. We see this picture going around the world. It would be headline news on all continents. Millions of people would not just discuss your death but the limits of art. It would be an art event like no other before.


First it was just a crazy thought. But slowly it rvoled into a detailed plan. And now we are totally fascinated by it. After two weeks of intense debate and planning among ourselves, we finally acted.


By announcing this art project in advance, the impact will be so much greater. By making public all the details, we seek to increase the controversy. Your death from now on will be anticipated. We seek maximum impact even if it makes the plan's execution more difficult.


We have found the ideal person for this project. Let us call him Luiz. Of course, for our own protection Luiz does not know any of us. An intermediary hired him and keeps in touch with him. But Luiz knows of this letter - and is not happy about it. Understandably so. Your security at home and outside will be beefed up. Thus his risk increases. And without the element of surprise, the cost for this unique art project becomes substantially higher, too. We are in a fortunate situation where this does not matter. All that maters is the outcome.


Here the contract in detail. (It's a short version and some elements of it we chose not to publish.)


* It must be carried out within 5 years.

* After a first payment (€ 15'000), Luiz will get a monthly allowance of € 4'000 for all expenses involved (planning, traveling, observation, etc.) This allowance (paid in advance for 3 months) might lead him to stay for a few years on our payroll before acting. That, on the other hand carries the risk of your demise before Luiz makes his move. (After all it is well possible that you will come across some crazy animal rights defender.) In which case there would be no final payment. Luiz will have to make his own calculation on this. Our guess is that he will take his time. He is a very thorough and patient person who moves slow and methodically. Or so we are told and promised.

* Our preferred outcome is the above-mentioned picture of your death by starving on a chain. For such a well-documented finale of yours we promise to pay another € 250'000. Kidnapping is a complicated business and your long-term security measures are not yet known. (Not even by you, we guess.) That is why we offer Luiz an alternative, a cheap way out so to speak: If the kidnapping and starving to death cannot be done, any other finale will do as well. For a much smaller reward though: € 50'000. (You might be surprised by the huge difference. But a simple bullet in the head is of course not the same artistic statement as the picture of chained Habacuc starving to death. There has to be an appropriate incentive.)


Of course we expect that you and the media receiving this email will consider this an elaborate prank. After all you are now being flooded with hate mail. This is fine with us. But maybe you also sense that this is not like any of the hate driven messages you receive these days. Nobody here hates you, not even the two among us who are disgusted by your starving dog-work. We aim to create an event and stir up an artistic controversy like no other before. There will be books and documentaries. Your death is in a way a logical consequence of the project you started yourself.


Experience the fear as part of this most unusual artistic project which now centers around you. You are no longer just an artist. Consider the rest of your life as art itself. You may always find comfort in the thought that your death (especially if it comes as a result of starving) will be more than just a footnote in the history of art. Your death will be an incredible artistic statement. You will get the fame that you were seeking so desperately.


We remain with best wishes for whatever time you have left,


X


PS: We are still discussing if and how we could also include involved galleries like MARCAACME and JACOB KARPIO in the project. Luiz has allegedly offered a big bang for an additional fee. Well, the fee wouldn't be the problem. But what's the message of a bombed gallery? Does it not cheapen the project? And we wouldn't want to risk the life of bystanders. At this time we haven't reached an agreement yet. We love the idea of having the two gallery owners starving side by side with Habacus, all chained in a row. But realistically this can't be done. At least not at the same time.

artwithnolimits@yahoo.com

from	Art Nolimits - artwithnolimits@yahoo.com
to	info@madc.ac.cr,
date	Dec 3, 2007 10:09 AM
subject	a letter for Mr. Varga
mailed-by	yahoo.com