modern art

[alexamenos]

Modern Art arguably leaves a little to be desired....

For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse
Martine Powers
Staff Reporter
Published Thursday, April 17, 2008
Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock . saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.

But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value."

"I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone."

The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.

Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.

Art major Juan Castillo '08 said that although he was intrigued by the creativity and beauty of her senior project, not everyone was as thrilled as he was by the concept and the means by which she attained the result.

"I really loved the idea of this project, but a lot other people didn't," Castillo said. "I think that most people were very resistant to thinking about what the project was really about. [The senior-art-project forum] stopped being a conversation on the work itself."

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[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

Modern Art arguably leaves a little to be desired....



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we need a poll to vote on which politician will be the first to defend this publicly as free speech.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

we need a poll to vote on which politician will be the first to defend this publicly as free speech.

to tell you the truth, I don't have a problem with anyone defending this as free speech.

where I have a problem is with someone defending this as good art.

postmodern art = shite

give me mary holding a baby jesus in her lap or a bowl of fruit setting on a table. anything other than postmodern shite that is passed off as art.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

to tell you the truth, I don't have a problem with anyone defending this as free speech.

where I have a problem is with someone defending this as good art.

postmodern art = shite

give me mary holding a baby jesus in her lap or a bowl of fruit setting on a table. anything other than postmodern shite that is passed off as art.

I agree. It might be "art" under the technical, dictionary definition of the word, but good art, let alone great art? Nah.

[mary]

http://spiralingmoon.livejournal.com/2004/09/06/

[Usually Lurkin]

I think it's closer to murder than to free speech.
Anything is art. That guy with the toilet proved that.

[Usually Lurkin]

sorry. I missed this piece:
http://www.yale.edu/opa/

New Haven, Conn. — April 17, 2008

Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman’s body.

She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.

Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.

it's just crap art. of the kind you can only call art to make a point