dog
the gallery owners reported to the press that the dog was a local stray which was given food, water and bedding during the exhibition then allowed to escape back to the street.
the artist made a statement that the pupose was to show the hypocrisy of sheep who would ignore the starving and dying animals they passed when walking to the gallery only to become incensed when confronted directly by the truth in the form of the exhibit.
The petition perfectly shows his truth. And anyone who just got angry at HIM and did not go out to a shelter to save a rescue animal, is equally guilty. Welcome to the Monkey House.
There is also probably moral argument that he is wrong to have selected a dog, given it treatment, and then released it back to its inevitable deadly lifestyle as a hungry pack animal.
But the petition mischaracterized what the facts were and by doing so hurt the cause of animal rights - think of how the organizational dollars could have been used if donated to actual rescue missions instead of a phony PR stunt.
BTW, my last line "welcome to the monkey house" is reference to a Kurt Vonnegut short story in a collection in the same name, about a society where people are mandated or encouraged (I forget which) to show up to a center to commit suicide to reduce the burden on the rest of society. If you enjoy reading, you should check it (or any other Vonnegut novel) out.
Artists are definitely stretching boundaries these days, but so are special interest groups, so both have to be looked at closely before jumping on any bandwagon - peace.bb.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/133103?GT1=43002
I remember when I rode the bus when I was seven, nobody cared back then. I mean think about it, I was raised and taught well enough to know not to go with strangers... If I screamed and didn't want to go with that person, most people would've helped back then. Society is too afraid now. Everyone would rather sit and watch as hell breaks loose about around them. I think society has become close to stupid.
If I do I may just cry.
What happened was he took in the dog, did it to see if people would just stand their and watch (and they did) later on he took the dog out, fed it, got it healthy and then let it loose as a stray again.