Abortion Hilarity

[Minty]

I call hoax, what with the Papal visit in the States and everything but is this a new low?

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5837

Yale Daily News posted:

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."

Although Shvarts said she does not remember the class being quite as hostile as Castillo described, she said she believes it is the nature of her piece to "provoke inquiry."

"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."

The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.

School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, Schvarts' senior-project advisor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Few people outside of Yale's undergraduate art department have heard about Shvarts' exhibition. Members of two campus abortion-activist groups — Choose Life at Yale, a pro-life group, and the Reproductive Rights Action League of Yale, a pro-choice group — said they were not previously aware of Schvarts' project.

Alice Buttrick '10, an officer of RALY, said the group was in no way involved with the art exhibition and had no official opinion on the matter.

Sara Rahman '09 said, in her opinion, Shvarts is abusing her constitutional right to do what she chooses with her body.

"[Shvarts' exhibit] turns what is a serious decision for women into an absurdism," Rahman said. "It discounts the gravity of the situation that is abortion."

CLAY member Jonathan Serrato '09 said he does not think CLAY has an official response to Schvarts' exhibition. But personally, Serrato said he found the concept of the senior art project "surprising" and unethical.

"I feel that she's manipulating life for the benefit of her art, and I definitely don't support it," Serrato said. "I think it's morally wrong."

Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers.

"It was a private and personal endeavor, but also a transparent one for the most part," Shvarts said. "This isn't something I've been hiding."

The official reception for the Undergraduate Senior Art Show will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25. The exhibition will be on public display from April 22 to May 1. The art exhibition is set to premiere alongside the projects of other art seniors this Tuesday, April 22 at the gallery of Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall on Chapel Street.

[Marty McFly]

Jesus H Corbett. It'd be interesting to know how many people actually choose to view this 'art'..

[Suttonpubcrawl]

The world gets one step closer to the point where everything that you could ever think of doing has already been done.

[biggytitbo]

You never used to see owt like this on Take Hart.

[Ronnie the Raincoat]

When I had a miscarriage it was painful and frightening.  I should have fucking filmed it and called it art instead of crying to my mother about it.  It seems if you do anything publically it's called art. 

Nothing to do with morality, this is just tasteless and trivialising. It's going to wreck her body too and piss off people who can't conceive.

[boxofslice]

Oh God!! What if it bursts?

[Mindbear]

She's a fame hungry lunatic, there's nothing to say with this act. If she wants to provoke conversation regarding the human body, she needs to have something going on other than just causing miscarriages, the stupid bitch. Women all over the world would do anything to conceive, and there she is, probably now fucked physically, to provoke some fame from controversy, the stupid stupid arrogant witch.

As far as I know, a lot of women miscarry on their first conception within the first few months, I have a few friends who have done so, it's not a hoot. This is what pisses me off about some critics too, they're fucking retards, standing there nervous waiting to be told that it's fabulous or not so they can all agree or be horrified. Dickheads.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Speaking of abortion, there were four young ladies standing arms crossed outside the local Family Planning clinic on Saturday morning with red tape across their mouths. It was an odd sight, never seen it in real life before. One of them was well fit too. What a waste!

Oh, this is them, they have a myspace

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=83040273

[Notlob]

Wow, that's an Art Attack-and-a-half.

I'm with you, though, Minty, I call hoax too - any links from the BBC et al? Even then I would be sceptical.

[Artemis]

You never used to see owt like this on Take Hart.

I once sent in a collection of three months worth of defecations shaped into a 36 inch man, in clear tupperware, as a tribute to Morph. Despite religiously studying The Gallery every time it was on, I never saw my work on display.

[j_u_d_a_s]

Speaking of abortion, there were four young ladies standing arms crossed outside the local Family Planning clinic on Saturday morning with red tape across their mouths. It was an odd sight, never seen it in real life before. One of them was well fit too. What a waste!

Quoted from the myspazz:

We are a grassroots movement that is rising to end abortion in our country; our land. To see the establishment of righteousness and justice in America; our nation; our home. We are Bound4Life to this end.
This is how you and I will see these things happen. PRAY, VOTE, AND OBEY, this is the sound of a movement. The heartbeat of a generation; activists, warring in the heavens while putting feet to their prayers. A siege on every courthouse. Communion at every abortion clinic.
There is nothing that can wash away the sins of America, besides the blood of Jesus. We have no other rallying point except the cross of Christ. This is what unifies our efforts in becoming the Church triumphant and an army engaged.

PRAY, VOTE AND OBEY. That's the most sinister sentence I've read this year.

I'm looking forward to the reports of Aliza Shvarts dying from massive bloodloss!

[Feralkid]

My sister had an extremely unpleasant miscarriage a few years ago - particularly traumatic given that she didn't realise she was pregnant.   She screamed for most of it.  The fact that we'd been seated eating chow at the breakfast bar in my parents kitchen made it all feel like a Ken Loach remake of Alien. 

I dealt with everything calmly, making her as comfortable as possible and getting my hysterical mother to leave the room and pack an overnight bag before the ambulance arrived.  But between the terrified look on her face and the mopping up I had to do afterwards it's not an experience I can imagine any sane human being subjecting themselves to.

This artist is clearly out of her fucking mind.  Unless of course she's faking it all.   

[steve98]

She's a fame hungry lunatic, there's nothing to say with this act. If she wants to provoke conversation regarding the human body, she needs to have something going on other than just causing miscarriages, the stupid bitch. Women all over the world would do anything to conceive, and there she is, probably now fucked physically, to provoke some fame from controversy, the stupid stupid arrogant witch.

As far as I know, a lot of women miscarry on their first conception within the first few months, I have a few friends who have done so, it's not a hoot. This is what pisses me off about some critics too, they're fucking retards, standing there nervous waiting to be told that it's fabulous or not so they can all agree or be horrified. Dickheads.

I admire your position of unequivical anger here and on other posts M/b, not tempered by ironic detatchment or digging for Mark Speigh type tedious jokes. If my g/f -who's given up after about 5 years of artificial insemmenation- read this article she'd go ballistic. Peace lover though she is if she ever met this idiotic pretentious child blood might flow (from above the waistline)

[George Oscar Bluth II]

You think that nothing will can shock you...and then you read about a woman who's deliberately given herself repeated miscarriges. Amazing.

[Mindbear]

I admire your position of unequivical anger here and on other posts M/b, not tempered by ironic detatchment or digging for Mark Speigh type tedious jokes. If my g/f -who's given up after about 5 years of artificial insemmenation- read this article she'd go ballistic. Peace lover though she is if she ever met this idiotic pretentious child blood might flow (from above the waistline)

And she'd be right too....although I fear this girl has probably lost so much blood through pathetic idiotic attention seeking that she probably needs every drop just to have the energy to climb the stairs. I bet a day will come, quite rightly, that this girl regrets the second she made this fucking retarded decision. She's hijacking a very sensitive issue for her personal gain. Twat. TWAT!

[Bogey]

My initial thought about this was that it would be a gift to the right-wing anti-choice lot: "See what a woman's 'right' to 'choose' can lead to..." etc. etc. No doubt they'll have a field day with this.

But then I thought, well, it is her right to choose though, isn't it? These are all clearly very early term abortions, so there can be no possible question of suffering except for her own. Which should be her choice, should it not? Who suffers?
And no one has a right not to be offended.

As such, much as I'm loathe to admit it, this has actually made me think a bit.

And this is why we should all hate artists.

[Dragon]

Why doesn't she just slash her wrists? She only using the blood from the miscarriages.

Also, people are not going to provide her with semen, and a lot of people will try and stop her from getting it.

[Minty]

Ah well, as predicted it was a 'hilarious' hoax, designed to foster debate on this sensitive issue. Or some other bollocks:

"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."

[Famous Mortimer]

Ah well, as predicted it was a 'hilarious' hoax, designed to foster debate on this sensitive issue. Or some other bollocks:

So, after people either thought she was an enormous fucking idiot or a hoaxer, she's proved us all right, really.

[j_u_d_a_s]

Ah well, as predicted it was a 'hilarious' hoax, designed to foster debate on this sensitive issue. Or some other bollocks:

"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."

LOL Soshul experiment!

[Mindbear]

The only thing it's confirmed to me is that she was a fame hungry dickhead. The only thing that has happened is that people are talking about what a twat she is. Enjoy that fifteen minutes SCHVARTS!

[Famous Mortimer]

She reminds me of that woman who did the posters where she was in fancy drerss, with "clever" headlines, from last year. Although to be fair, I did like that for about half an hour.

[boxofslice]

I bet she's feeling really smug about herself as well.

Whatever happened to drawing a nice picture and hanging it up?

[SetToStun]

In this case I believe I'd settle for her drawing a picture and then hanging herself.

[Dragon]

I once saw someone who made a box with four compartments out her own flayed skin, slashed her wrists and put her blood in one section, blew her nose HARD every day for a week and put it all in another, drank black fluid and vomited into another, and pissed into the last one.

She called it "Four Humours".

For art.

[Steve Thompson Dance Mix]

I wonder why 'artists' like this just don't hang themselves for their art. Surely this would provoke debate about the nature of the body. Oh right.

[Baxter]

This didn't Really happen though did it?

[Marv Orange]

I went to see this I built up a reet hunger looking at those meaty smelling blobs so much so on the way home

Spoiler alert

I bought myself abortion of chips

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