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April 17, 2008
Yale Student Now Denies Having Made Abortions Into Art
(Updated at 9 p.m.)
A Yale University art student who told the campus newspaper that she had repeatedly inseminated herself artificially and then induced miscarriages as part of her senior thesis has retracted those statements, a university spokeswoman announced late today.
The student, Aliza Shvarts, was quoted in the the Yale Daily News as saying that the project was meant to explore the relationship between art and the human body. “I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” she said. The project was to culminate in an exhibit of video recordings of the miscarriages and plastic-wrapped blood from them, the newspaper said.
Ms. Shvarts told the News that she did not pay the sperm donors, but did require them to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. She also said that she had induced the miscarriages by taking abortifacient drugs that were legal and herbal, and that she was not concerned for the effects repeated miscarriages might have on her body.
After the article’s publication, however, Ms. Shvarts told senior officials at Yale that she had not impregnated herself and had not induced any miscarriages, the spokeswoman, Helaine S. Klasky, said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site.
Ms. Shvarts “has the right to express herself through performance art,” the statement says. It adds: “Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.” —Beckie Supiano
Posted on Thursday April 17, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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This is literally the sickest thing I have ever heard of in my life.
— DLS Apr 17, 03:33 PM #
I agree, this is terribly sick and disgusting. This has nothing to do with art.
— NR Apr 17, 03:37 PM #
I agree DLS. This is not even art. It is absolutely disgusting. Yale has a lot to answer for as well to allow this form of obscenity.
— Chris Apr 17, 03:37 PM #
This is a Godsend to the pro-life wacko’s. I am pro choice, but this is waaaay to far off ..
— russell barbour Apr 17, 03:39 PM #
This is just the kind of fodder the Right to Lifers need to kill Roe vs. Wade. This student needs major psychological help.
— Karen Apr 17, 03:40 PM #
What a world – this woman really needs help.
— Joe Apr 17, 03:44 PM #
If this passes for art at Yale, someone needs to take a look at the department. Who was her faculty advisor for this horror?
— RR Apr 17, 03:47 PM #
I only hope this turns out to be a hoax.
— Marlene Apr 17, 03:53 PM #
This action, if indeed true, is beyond sick and perverted. I’m sure even most, if not all, the pro-choice people will find this action appalling. If not, there has got to be something wrong. This debate about pro life or choice is beyond any religious boundaries. To reduce human dignity to this level is to reduce life to nothing. Thank you (with sarcasm) to all the liberals to make it possible for people to do such things!
— Chris Apr 17, 03:54 PM #
There are extreme pro-lifers and extreme pro-choice activists — and both can be a bit wacky. I consider myself to be pro-life as well as compassionate to women in crisis. But I’m not a wacko, nor would I use something so horrible as fodder. Let’s not use this to attack those who think children have a right to be born … and focus more on what we can do to educate students that human life is not a game or a project and this type of behavior is not acceptable …
— ACL Apr 17, 03:56 PM #
I’m praying this story is some sort of sick April Fool’s joke. If not, this student needs to be counseled and Yale needs to examine what it stands for. How can this young woman not even question the ethical and moral disasters her choice entails. To have such a total disregard for life, hers as well as the potential children, is itself inhuman. It also says a lot about the state of our families, our youth and our system of higher education if something like this is allowed or encouraged on a college campus. It takes a lot to shock me, but I am utterly sickened by this story. God help us all!
— Tim Apr 17, 03:57 PM #
She needs help. I find it hard to believe that anyone could find any redeeming value is this offensive attempt at self-expression. No institution of higher education should condone this! I’m disgusted.
— Brian Apr 17, 03:59 PM #
If abortion is moral and legal, then the only issue (no pun…) should be the quality of the art, which in these modern times is no worse than the “Piss Christ” that was acclaimed several years ago.
I suspect the instant revulsion to this comes from a deeper place within us that recognizes the sacredness of life and the bottom of the slippery slope that legalizing abortion placed us on.
— Wacko Apr 17, 04:01 PM #
I’m pro-life but this is truly atrocious. What next, e-Portfolios for serial killers? Both she and the Professor who approved this project need counseling.
— Lyn Apr 17, 04:05 PM #
I’m pro-choice and this article has nothing to do with that matter. This student says she wants to explore the relationship between the body and art. Then spit, bleed, pee, scratch, but don’t kill off a fetus for an art project. There are different means she could have used to inspire the “discourse” as she calls it. She simply chose the wrong one. She just wanted a reaction.
— jp Apr 17, 04:08 PM #
A response? How about “You’re nuts, go away.”
— Joe Apr 17, 04:11 PM #
Well. . .there is one thing that is even sicker than what this woman has done – from the Yale Daily News:
“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.”
If that actually happens, there’s a whole bunch of folks in the Art Department and in the Administration who need a check-up from the neck-up! You’d think there was an adult in a leadership position somewhere at Yale. . .
— Bill Apr 17, 04:13 PM #
This is a sickening example of a total disregard for human life, art, and common sense. What else might we expect from a culture that considers crotch-grabbing women-bashers and fetus murderers artists? Congratulations Yale. It appears that no matter how low we set the bar, some institutions will find ways of letting students get under it. God help us all – especially those who cannot protect themselves.
— EC Apr 17, 04:14 PM #
It is hard to believe that what is considered “art” in this society can sink much lower, but this proves that there is literally no depth to the sewer some people live in. Truly an abomination, and nothing good can come of it.
— DrHypersonic Apr 17, 04:14 PM #
Isn’t it amazing that this story/exhibition surface just in time for the Roe case anniversary? Co-incidence…or a stunt?Verification was in order before this was even published.
— jaded Apr 17, 04:15 PM #
I know what is considered art is subjective, but this definitely crosses the line. It seems that sound moral judgement is a thing of the past!
— DJ Apr 17, 04:16 PM #
I’m pro-choice, but this… is pretty sick. Also, once I got past my initial revulsion, the lack of detail made me doubt the veracity of this ‘artists’ claims. The blood could be from anything, and the videos could be faked, especially seeing they are being projected onto bloody plastic wrap, which will make it harder to see details.
— a different Dan Apr 17, 04:17 PM #
I’m pro-choice, but do not take the issue of abortion lightly. It isn’t a happy choice for most people and the goal should always be to prevent pregnancy when you don’t want to have a child. I disagree with “Wacko” here – this self-induced abortion “art” cannot be compared to a woman who finds herself pregnant and is not in a position to care for the child – either financially or emotionally, and makes the very tough decision to have an abortion.
— JJ Apr 17, 04:19 PM #
Wow, I was going to try something thoughtful, but I decided in retrospect,
this girl is just plain crazy and doesn’t warrant anything that deep.
Hopefully this pointless exercise will in fact halt her ability to procreate in the future.
I think her genetic code should stay safely wrapped in the cheap plastic lining of her ‘ART’ project.
— Jim Apr 17, 04:20 PM #
I’m sorry. I just can not accept that this disgusting story is factual. If it is, Yale has a lot to answer for. I am strongly pro-choice, by the way.
— Kaybar Apr 17, 04:24 PM #
How can anyone’s thoughts and actions get so twisted? How can any faculty advisor sanction such a student project?
It’s a bad day for Yale. It’s a bad day for all of us.
MTN
— Maureen Nutting Apr 17, 04:33 PM #
the best part is- “I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” – seems like a fairly well thought out project…
— Chris Apr 17, 04:35 PM #
True or not, the quote certainly is a disappointing reflection of an Invy League education. “I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” she said.
Okay, I’ll bite…any particular “sort of” discourse? What is art? What is life? What is matter? Is there any qualitative difference between creation and destruction? Is art the medium or the message?
Yes, I am certain the student had all this in mind. I’d love to see the rest of her body of work.
Andy Warhol is turning in his grave, or not…She has squandered her 15 minutes of fame!
— Peggy DeStefano Apr 17, 04:47 PM #
I am pro-choice, although I personally would never choose to abort a baby. I understand the reasons why some women do, and believe it should be an option. However, to purposely conceive (and multiple times) for the sole reason of having a fetus to abort for an ‘art’ project is going way too far and I am SHOCKED that ANY institution of higher education would approve this. I agree with Peggy that is definitely inspires some of the questions posed, but at what price?
— d. Apr 17, 04:59 PM #
Therapy?!!! This woman needs to be put in a straight jacket , placed in a padded room and the keys thrown out in the Pacific ocean. God help us.
— lulu mayzure Apr 17, 05:06 PM #
I’m chiming in with those who are pro-choice but still believe this woman needs psychological help. Just because something is legal and acceptable when necessary doesn’t mean it should be done repeatedly, without necessity, just to “inspire discourse.”
— anonymous Apr 17, 05:08 PM #
Well- what does this say to world and how we are educating the leaders of tomorrow? I feel for her, she has no clue the physical ramifications as well as the psychological ones this will have on her down the road. She is more concerned about the ‘art’ and her overall graduation/thesis. If Yale wants to maintain such high standards, then maybe they should reconsider her thesis topic. We have too many tragedies across this country’s campuses that we don’t need further headlines of this magnitude.
— Mae Apr 17, 05:14 PM #
This student needs a psychological evaluation. This is one of the sickest things I ever heard! I hope Yale is not endorsing this conduct.
— Aprille Apr 17, 05:19 PM #
I am pro-choice. I believe that the decision to have an abortion is a completely personal one, that should be left to the woman and her doctor. But this goes completely beyond that. This is the act of intentionally creating life just to destroy it. It goes beyond all boundaries. I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of women who do make the choice to go through with an abortion didn’t intentionally get pregnant in the first place.
I cannot put my finger on the exact reasons why, but this makes me totally and utterly sick and horrified. You would think a project like this should have required IRB approval at the very least.
— -Jessica Apr 17, 05:23 PM #
There have been enough human atrocities outside of art that “inspire discourse” – which is an overused cliché/excuse used by so called artists. If society is not doing enough to address tragedies like genocide, human rights abuses, war, poverty, ad infin., then sure, inspire discourse with art or other means. But the abortion/right-to-life debate was never lacking in inspired discourse to begin with so shock art like this should be called just what it is – narcissistic, self-aggrandized publicity stunts. And shame on Yale art faculty to not have the cajones to understand that distinction. The only discourse I’m inspired to discuss is how much new art truly doesn’t relate to it’s subject as much as it speaks to the artist’s general dysfunction.
— pete Apr 17, 05:26 PM #
Reasonable and loving people are often pro-choice. And so am I. If this is true, it represents the most abhorrent disrespect for life and lack of love of children possible—disgusting to both sides of the issue I am sure. Is the god “ART” worth it to you? Or discourse, no! Shame on you. I hope this is a hoax. Here’s your discourse, though. Satisfied? Please desist.
— E Apr 17, 05:38 PM #
This came out of Yale.
If I recall correctly isn’t this the University that granted a degree to a semi literate and dangerous President currently destroying the Nation with his stupidity.
Wasn’t Frank Meriwell a Yale football hero?
— AW Apr 17, 05:48 PM #
i’m not quite sure how i feel about this yet . . . but it is reminiscent of marina abromovic – tearing apart the boundaries of life, death, art, insanity?
whether or not i find this ethical i think it is a very intriguing piece and would certianly like to know more of the artist’s thought process.
— Josefina Apr 17, 05:52 PM #
I hope this is a hoax, and I suspect that it might be.
I am a pro-life male who thinks he understands what many expectant mothers—who find themselves alone and scared, having been abandoned by the fathers of their children at a time when they desperately need their support (financial and emotional support not least of all)—might be going through. I’ve always thought that the best way to stop abortion is to hold fathers accountable. I think that if these women had the support they needed abortion would be almost nonexistent.
I am glad to see so many pro-choice people—whose compassion for scared and lonely mothers-to-be I do admire—repulsed at the termination of the “life” of the fetuses. Looks like it’s time to have compassion for both the mothers and the lives in their wombs. It’s time to reassess what we really believe, isn’t it?
— Tracy G. Apr 17, 05:57 PM #
This is a hoax. It’s a good scenario to think with, but really, the whole thing is unbelievable. “Herbal” abortion drugs? Don’t you think we all would be aware of what this drug was if it actually existed? Filmed herself aborting in a bathtub (anyone who has had a chemical abortion knows they go on for HOURS and are both painful AND boring). Vaseline mixed with blood? Does anyone think that would end up looking like anything except unremarkable brown and yellow goo? This woman has got a great hoax for an art project and she has my admiration for thinking up something that grosses everybody on both sides of the issue out so thoroughly.
— jenny Apr 17, 06:46 PM #
Indeed it is sick —what artists will not do to draw attention!!!
To Karen and others, please stop using the word “pro-life” —they are not pro-life, they are anti-abortion. They want to force women to have babies, then they oppose any form of government help to take care of the baby.
— Sam Apr 17, 06:55 PM #
I’m surprised by the emotional and intellectual level of the responses here. I understand a guttural reaction is unavoidable, but I imagine this forum is primarily populated by educators. Rather than dismissing this student entirely, shouldn’t we respond with ideas more fully thought-out than this project apparently was?
Particularly, comments like this unsettle me: “Wow, I was going to try something thoughtful, but I decided in retrospect,this girl is just plain crazy and doesn’t warrant anything that deep.”
I wouldn’t refer to any students I know as ‘plain crazy’ and unworthy of my time or effort — and we all certainly hear ridiculous ideas from students all the time.
I don’t pretend to enjoy this art; certainly, while earning my own art degree, this was the type of juvenile, self-indulgent, contemporary mess I hated most. But while I won’t appreciate the process or the product here, I’d criticize more the faculty and staff who failed to advise this student in a different direction, and the student’s own lack of discourse on the subject. There’s plenty that could be said here, and she — as an artist — needs to step forward and contribute to the discussion.
— Raven Apr 17, 06:56 PM #
I hope this is something taken off snopes.com. But, if this is indeed a true story, I’m saddened that this young woman has turned multiple pregnancies and multiple abortions into an artistic endeavour. Clearly there is some mental disturbance of some kind at play here. I hope that the Yale community will help her and help her quickly. Unfortunately, these acts will only perpetuate the anti-choice pundits ridiculous idea that women have repeated abortions as a form of birth control. It is a painful, painful decision that no woman ever wants to make. I know because I made that choice many years ago. I am pro-choice, and I made the right decision for myself. To have someone deliberately get pregnant in order to abort is macabre, and it makes a mockery of these important life-changing decisions that women and their partners must face.
— JRE Apr 17, 07:05 PM #
Thanks, Raven, for the only thoughtful response here. If all other respondents here are educators I certainly hope that they aren’t teaching anything related to contemporary art – to be that imediately dismissive of something without knowing more is troubling.
— heART Apr 17, 07:11 PM #
This is modern art. If you don’t like it, go buy some Thomas Kincaid posters and shut up. Why do YOU care what she does with HER body? Why does she need counseling? Live and let live guys!
— Clair Apr 17, 08:02 PM #
Why does she need counselling? Because she’s sick in the head!! To become pregnant then forcefully abort those children is a sick and disgusting act in need to mental attention. There are so many women out there, myself included, who have become pregnant, loved our children and lost them, and then to read of someone so selfish, wanting an A, who aborts seemingly healthy children for “art”, that just makes me sick. I have suffered two consecutive losses and would have given anything to give those children love and a good home. I hope this person NEVER has children. The government should force her to get a hysterectomy or something. That makes me want to throw up.
— Brandi Apr 17, 08:10 PM #
Maybe she should “self-abort”. If this type of grotesque act is allowable, we are done as a society.
— bobby Apr 17, 08:11 PM #
It’s a hoax. Go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041702519.html
for an explanation.
— B Apr 17, 08:13 PM #
Regardless of whether or not it was a hoax, the very thought of such a “project” is disgusting and demoralizing. As a woman who has suffered two losses, 10 weeks apart, and is now pregnant again, the thought that someone who do or would even fake such a story or such an act, again, makes me want to throw up, and no, it’s not what I ate tonight.
To even think up such a story, how can you not consider the emotional sensitivites of women who have lost children through miscarriage? Did she not think of how much it would affect such women? I’m sure she’s not that stupid not to have thought that men and women everywhere would be so emotionally affected by such a thing.
Joke or not, this woman still needs mental help. I hope they kick her out of the university for this.
— Brandi Apr 17, 08:25 PM #
This screams hoax. This is all part of the art of the project, and she sure did get a lot of attention. No one at Yale would accept this concept for academic work.
— Cassandra Apr 17, 08:47 PM #
I truly hope this surfaces as a hoax because as a pre-frosh at Yale (I matriculate next fall) and a pro-lifer I am absolutely appalled—speechless—at this behavior. This is enough to make me reconsider my acceptance of their offer, and I am definitely going to write to the Dean if this is true.
I would like to point out that this girl is NOT representative of the student body at Yale. I HOPE!
— Nadia Apr 17, 09:05 PM #
Very good to know it’s a hoax. The Washington Post hit the nail on the head: “But to many, her piece symbolized the worst of art — shock without substance — and of academia, with professors encouraging useless introspection.”
Those of us in academia have a hard enough time being taken seriously by business and government. This is is a case of senseless, inane, and pointless introspection at its finest (worst).
— DLS Apr 17, 09:14 PM #
Why is this a surprise given the heavy emphasis on pushing the limits in art? Where do art majors get the “don’t go too far” lecture in any class?
If you’re all really disgusted, then start your lectures next week with setting some reasonable limits to all disciplines.
— John Apr 18, 06:29 AM #
Hoax or not, what this young woman did is inappropriate, wrong and hurtful to many in the academic community ane elsewhere. It obviously has struck a nerve among many of us who are commenting on the story. This is a teachable moment and the answer is to hold her and the art department at Yale accountable for whatever happened. Kicking her out of college is not going to help. A more helpful alternative may be to require her and her advisor(s) to make some sort of amends for the real pain this “project” caused… some kind of remedial training in ethics to make up for what they are so lacking.
— Mina Apr 18, 07:10 AM #
Those many commentators who express disgust are, I assume, disgusted by the retracted claim about this woman’s art project and not by the retraction. Given that this is a story about a person who made up a story and then later denied its truth, is that also disgusting? Is it disgusting that someone made up a story that you consider so vile? I don’t understand the reactions to this piece, unless they are fueled by the same zealous thoughtlessness that characterizes the debate over abortion rights.
I find the project very interesting: making up a story about abortion that actually generates considerable consensus around this divisive issue and then later denying it. Without more information about the context for this project, I wouldn’t judge its value, but the strong responses that ignore a significant aspect of the story (the retraction) are an indication that this project has at least some merits to consider.
Finally, as my smug rational tone may suggest, I am pro-abortion rights. As such, I support a person’s right to choose to kill her foetus for any reasons she wishes. If we begin to arbitrate from outside which reasons are legitimate and which are not, we quickly erode the foundation of her freedom to choose. That is, it will no longer be a woman’s choice since she must first offer reasons for her decision, reasons to be judged by others.
— Aden Apr 18, 07:30 AM #
I have an artist friend who does great work, but does not have the Yale MFA. A study of a few years ago suggested that simply having the Yale MFA made you collectible. I keep telling my friend to stick the Yale MFA on her web site. She is too ethical and too good to do so.
Anyway, what a crock re the Yale MFA as this so called avant garde “art” a la Shvarts confirms.
— John Apr 18, 08:06 AM #
Wow, this sure brought the comments out. I can’t see what the hell this has to do with art, but wait a minute: I’m male, so do I really have the right to comment on what Aliza Shvartz or any other woman does with her body?
Oh, and by the way, is this really any sicker than the average medieval painting of the Crucifixion? Or St. Anthony? St. Sebastian? Or whatever scene of torture and death you prefer . . .
People who get their shorts in a twist about this sort of silly publicity-seeking nonevent but turn around and defend, say, Gilbert and George, not to mention the endless dreary depictions (in hand-ground oil colors, of course) of the ghastliest tortures imaginable, merely because the latter were painted hundreds of years ago in the name of religious devotion, simply mystify me. If all the BS were instantly removed from current art and current art criticism, there wouldn’t be enough left to make a Geico commercial out of.
— Dan Apr 18, 08:29 AM #
What does it say about us as a society that someone would even THINK about this. True or not she did it for a reason! Attention?
— Sharon Apr 18, 08:30 AM #
This is complete depravity and reflects the moral-free environment encouraged by Yale. It is astounding that the university would even give voice to such heinous acts by putting it in the news.
— Kathleen Apr 18, 09:06 AM #
however if it were real, I don’t believe that the comments here are “useless introspection.” By simply suggesting something shocking she’s brought out a very primal and emotional response- one that is rarely achieved in the art world anymore because of society’s desensitization to most things that would be considered obscene.
Perhaps there is something artistic within the stalemate debate that academic types create when it comes to ethical issues. Is it right, is it art? or is the discussion and controversy over someone’s body and personal choices art.
I don’t think this insane idea has created any introspection that is useless.
— aaron Apr 18, 09:08 AM #
I am interested in the fact that the retraction occurred only after outpouring of outrage—I find that significant. Aden, are you certain that the retraction was a real one, or an attempt to escape fallout?
— N Apr 18, 09:15 AM #
The so called art points to moral relativism. if, according to pro-choice, abortion isn’t the same as murder, then regardless of how many abortions one has,this woman’s ‘art’ shouldn’t bother pro-lifers. but clearly, this project (real or fake) bothers pro-choice people on moral grounds. perhaps it’s because deep down we (and I struggle with the implicatioins of legal vs. illegalizing abortion) know abortion is killing life. if the ‘art’ is fake, it might actually be a good way for people to look at abortion differently and seek better ways of birth control (and I’m Catholic, fyi).
— kel Apr 18, 09:24 AM #
Please, let’s not give this woman any more of our attention!
— Jen Apr 18, 09:43 AM #
Aden (#59) – The disgusted responses were largely from before the update. The retraction was not part of the original blog entry.
Dan (#61) – The difference is that this piece was supposedly created out of actual torture (though self inflicted), not just an image re-creating torture that had already happened.
N (#65) – The lack of certain details and the symbolic meaning of others (a nine-month project = gestation, anonymous donors = unknown fathers, etc.) tells me that it was a hoax to begin with.
kel (#66) – Perhaps we pro-choice folks draw a line between a woman having the choice to get an abortion and a woman intentionally and repeatedly putting herself into that situation. Just like most people draw a line between it being acceptable to have a glass of wine or two with dinner and going on a week-long bender. Outlawing abortion because of an act like this (if it were real, anyway) would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater (no pun intended…).
— a different Dan Apr 18, 09:45 AM #
If, as is most likely, it is a hoax, then the Yale art school should lose standing. If it is not a hoax, they should lose their accreditation.
— Ben Apr 18, 09:56 AM #
Someone plase give Aliza Shvarts and Yale University a fire extinguiher… their pants are on fire.
— Joe Apr 18, 09:58 AM #
Is anyone bothered by the fact that the events described, be they factual or not, are completely legal?
— Pla Toe Apr 18, 10:27 AM #
I hope this story leads not only to some help for the student, but to some serious re-evaluation about what we mean by art. About half of what goes for performance art is quackery. To the extent that people take it seriously—or pretend to take it seriously—it encourages, in extreme form, the kind of thing we read about here.
— resigned to reality Apr 18, 10:38 AM #
Dan #68, yes, you have a point. But I worry about the long term effects on women who get abortions. In my anti-catholic youth, I got pregnant and thought, no biggy; I aborted. But it was harder than i thought, and i still mourn the child. I don’t want women to experience what I have experienced. Hence, the push for birth control. I AM against illegalizing abortion, but I’m also against abortion -s orry if i’m hypocrical, i can’t help it….thanks for your response though!
— kel Apr 18, 10:44 AM #
Obviously a hoax and, I think, a very successful piece of art. And, I haven’t even seen it. Nor has anyone commenting. She says “I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” which it did. Congratulations.
— stone Apr 18, 10:49 AM #
What is this world coming to? I worry what kind of legacy my generation will leave behind.
— 20 something Apr 18, 11:06 AM #
If you think this is disturbing, check out the “performance art” piece going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and black sites around the world. Talk about sick!
— Tony B Apr 18, 11:17 AM #
I agree with Tracy G’s thought, “It’s time to reassess what we really believe, isn’t it?” Although I could never abort a child, I support the right to choose. However, my support for that right dwindled after I worked a summer job with a young woman who aborted twins—her fifth and sixth abortions. (She couldn’t be bothered with taking the pill and she didn’t like anything “getting in the way.”) She joked the day before the procedure about cravings (eating ice cream and pickles at lunch) and laughed about it not being for long. She (and a few of our co-workers) also didn’t think that multiple abortions was rare; just something that women have to deal with periodically. The situation definitely put an entirely different spin on the whole issue for me. Although the report was a hoax; such thoughtless, multiple abortions do occur. Perhaps Ms. Shvartz, in creating this fictional controversy, wanted to draw attention to these as well as to examine the “mythology of the body.” (YND) Certainly not art without substance.
— KE Apr 18, 11:30 AM #
I’m a bit surprised by the majority of comments—outrage and disgust at this young person’s actions and Yale’s apparent complicity. I’m confident that if she has taken a health care ethics course at Yale or at any U.S. university, she would have heard ethical arguments and reasoning that clearly defended her actions. If a fertilized egg or blastocyst or embryo is not a human person but merely a collection of cells then using such as a medium within art is no different from using a nose bleed. The Yale spokesperson is quoted as saying, “Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.”
I can guarantee that there are ethics professors at Yale and elsewhere who would argue that there was no violation of “basic ethical standards.”
As far as the hoax goes, do we not recall the 1938 radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds”?
— Health Care Ethics Professor Apr 18, 11:48 AM #
Aden (#59), as a pro-life man I am in complete disagreement with your position. You are, however, consistent. Those of you who say you are pro-choice but think this stunt (or faked stunt) went too far really should reassess your position. Pro-choice, by definition, means that the woman has the right to choose to do whatever she wants to her unborn baby – period. She has the choice. Pro-choice advocates have worked hard in the legislatures and the courts to ensure that no limits are placed on that choice. So, if that’s how you want it, that’s apparrently how you’re going to get it.
— FB Apr 18, 12:55 PM #
One thing that is being overlooked is the Washington Post article quote from Juan Castillo, Ms. Shvarts’ classmate, “It’s supposed to challenge the mythology of the body,” “Are we only supposed to do what our bodies were ‘naturally’ meant to do, which is to procreate?” This brings into question the right of people over their own bodies. For decades, a woman’s womb is considered property of the state, especially after 25 weeks of pregnancy. Is this correct or appropriate to have a woman’s body segmented by the state? Ms. Shvarts’ art project maybe considered vile and grotesque by many, but it does bring attention to the very real issue of what is a body’s intention and who decides this. Funny how this only an issue when we talk about women’s bodies.
— Marie Nubia-Feliciano, M.S. Apr 18, 01:22 PM #
FB (#79) – I would consider myself pro-choice. I believe that some people need to have abortions available to them for various reasons (financial, maturity, etc.). That doesn’t mean that I want to hear those people brag about it. Or try to inspire discourse by it. And I strongly disagree for with abortions as a form of birth control (although that isn’t the issue here). But please don’t think that because I think this this story is disgusting and revolting (hoax or not) that I am pro-life. It’s not my place to decide who should be getting abortions, but that doesn’t mean that I need to agree with everyone that does it. I am fully for this student’s right to choose. I just don’t agree with why it was done. Or in this case, joked about.
— jp Apr 18, 01:57 PM #
I remember the days of Robert Mapplethorpe’s “bullwhip” exhibit and the howling that took place. In retrospect, I’d take that shock and awe in a heartbeat. I am deeply sorry for kel who mourns the loss of her child. You and Maggie Sanger (and many other leading eugenicists of that era) would definitely see eye to eye on this issue. You can only hope (can I say “pray” on this forum?) that one day all will be revealed and you will be reunited with your son or daughter.
— Douglas Apr 18, 01:59 PM #
#43: Several herbs, such as pennyroyal, are available legally and can be used as abortifacients. All literature I could find suggests that this is painful and enormously dangerous.
#51: Thank you for the link on the hoax.
— Kate Apr 18, 02:15 PM #
Remember when “performance art” meant Shakespeare?
At least we now know that committing infanticide, genocide, torture, rape, and mutilation are ethical at Yale, as long as you only lie about doing it.— Michael Apr 18, 03:01 PM #
Life is a gift to be celebrated and savored, which is why a lot of us progressive pro-lifers oppose war, poverty, injustice, discrimination, homophobia, abuse, capital punishment, and abortion, and devote our time to defending and supporting the most vulnerable among us: the poor, victims of abuse, refugees, the preborn, and the born to whom fate (or governments like the current US administration) has not been kind. Sometimes provocative art is exactly what we need, but what we all need now is provocation to live more mutually and joyfully, in a way that encourages us to bear with one another in suffering, not to create suffering of any kind.
— JW Apr 18, 04:10 PM #
Whatever else one can say about Aliza Shvartz, she has succeeded in garnering attention, i.e. in not being ignored, which is the fate of most artists, good, bad, or indifferent. Eighty-five comments and counting. . . .
— Dan Apr 18, 04:38 PM #
JW wrote: “…but what we all need now is provocation to live more mutually and joyfully, in a way that encourages us to bear with one another in suffering, not to create suffering of any kind.”
Well said, and thanks for saying it.
— wm Apr 18, 04:45 PM #
On top of perverted and whacky, bad taste. An art student at Yale?
— adolfo gonzalez Apr 18, 10:53 PM #
Has her blood been tested for HIV? In addition to a moral dilemma, the whole exhibit should have biohazard warning signs. Or maybe the blood stained sheets are just red and brown paint too, and the whole performance is really an exhibition of her ability to create a grotesque fiction?
— an observer Apr 19, 07:11 AM #
I, like some others, am somewhat surprised by the reaction to this performance piece. Some here have referred to as a “hoax”. That’s exactly what can constitute performance “art.” It wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn that the “artist” would use these responses here and elsewhere as part of her performance.
Art colleges, schools, and departments have for years now accepted what they call Performance Art. And this is just one more example of why there is no art in performance art.
Can she draw? Who knows. Is drawing passe and old fashioned? And what of skill and craft? Can we judge this “piece” as skillful? Is she a master of art? Who knows because there are no standards anymore. Originality! Now there’s the prize.
This performance should cause art colleges and universities everywhere to pause and ask, What constitutes art? As this case indicates, it is now too often rooted in self infatuation and solely self referential. Individualism run amok.
Perhaps Yale and this performer will consider this performance a success merely because it has generated notoriety through shock and awe.
— HL Morgan Apr 20, 11:17 AM #
Art exists to make us think. Shvartz has done that. She didn’t do what she said she did. Yale didn’t approve what she said she did. All of our outrage reveals, on the right and the left, what we are thinking about the abortion debate. I suppose some people would like her to be designing pretty coffee mugs and demonstrating her ability to draw. But that is not art. Art should force you out of your skin. Push your comfort level. Get you heated under the collar. Whatever you think—and you must think—Shvartz does all this.
— TS Apr 20, 08:07 PM #
Art? OMG! I can’t believe anyone with an education would call this art. If I paid tuition, planned it with a PhD beforehand, and then took a dump on your plate of food in the cafeteria, would you call it performance art? And would you discuss it with oh, such a serious tone? How about a nice painting depicting the lynching of blacks as a good thing? Would you defend that as freedom of expression? I can think of all manner of disgusting and vile things – things meant to offend and disgust the maximum number of people – if they are done in the context of “art” are they then worthy of serious consideration? Bullcrap!
Let’s call it what it is. If she actually did it, she’s sick and needs psychiatric help. If she lied about doing it, she’s almost as sick and is a real a-hole to boot. And any of her faculty that was in on this and didn’t stop it falls into the same category as this sick young lady. This isn’t art. And it isn’t educational. It’s a cry for help that should be answered with an appropriate strait jacket and a rubber residence.
— Bill Apr 20, 11:57 PM #
In fact, almost all of the things Bill mentions have appeared as works of art—to greater and lesser success. Perhaps Bill is doing a little performance here, too. Maybe he is a Ph.D. teaching at Harvard who likes to imitate irate anti-intellectuals, and he likes a bit of inter-school rivalry.
The point here is that the performance has made people on the right and left think about abortion in a different context. The work pushes my buttons, and I am thinking about the abortion debate differently. What harm did she do? And, think about it, if she had done what she said she did, was there a law against it? And what does that say about our laws?
I prefer to think with the art work—consider the emotions it raises in me. Those thoughts and feelings tell me when I am in the presence or not of art.
— TAS Apr 21, 08:29 AM #
Here’s an interesting Mad-Libs game. Take away the word abortion in any of the damning critiques above, and substitute either Impressionism, Expressionism, Modernism or Abstract. It would seem art history repeats itself.
— first marci Apr 21, 12:45 PM #
Art as shock value is a pretty low definition, one that does no justice to the idea of the aesthetic.
Not everything that stirs the emotions is art. There is a significant difference between the artist chronicling humanity at its worst, as Picasso did in his “Guernica”, and the artist being humanity at its worst, as Ms Shvarts has done in this tragedy.
The former can shock humanity to reject its own inhumanity and rise above its basest instincts, the latter merely revels in depravity.
— Michael Apr 21, 03:26 PM #
I found this post interesting: “I’m chiming in with those who are pro-choice but still believe this woman needs psychological help. Just because something is legal and acceptable when necessary doesn’t mean it should be done repeatedly, without necessity, just to “inspire discourse.” — anonymous Apr 17, 05:08 PM
“…something is legal and acceptable when necessary…” If elective abortion involves the deliberate destruction of innocent human life, and the deliberate destruction of innocent human life is an intrinsically and gravely disordered act (objectively evil), does any human person or group of human persons possess the authority to make what is objectively evil other than what it is? We need to be honest and call a spade a spade. “…something is legal and acceptable when necessary…” One could imagine a member of the Gestapo saying the same sort of thing about the “final solution.” Any human law that authorized the commission of an inherently disordered act is not a genuine law but an act of violence, a law in name only. Such a law cannot be reconciled with natural justice and the universal natural law discovered, not invented, by human reason. A society that denies the reality of the universal natural law inscribed upon the human heart is a society that leaves itself wide open to the assertion that “might makes right.” If might makes right, how is that essentially different from the law of the jungle, which is operative in lower, non-rational, animals? Yes, I know, there are those who would argue that we really aren’t essentially different than sheep and wolves and chimps, and that freedom is nothing more than an illusion, but such views can and should be challenged successfully.
Anyone who wishes to respond may do so by sending a reply to ppagan@aquinascollege.edu.
—Peter Pagan
— Peter Pagan Apr 21, 06:18 PM #
Wow! Aliza I hope you are taking the time to read all these comments. You have definately raised awareness to the issue of choice! Does a woman have a right to choose to do whatever she pleases with the life that so miraculously can be created in her? I think you just proved why that is ethically wrong! But at the end of the day what is the difference between you, who chose to abort and then display your own fetus or the woman who chooses to abort and leave her fetus at a cold abortion clinic to be crimated or thrown in a garbage can? Will you have children some day? If so… How will you explain that it could have been one of them, splattered and displayed in a mixture of menstrual blood on some plastic in an exhibit? Hmm… Something to think about…. Unfortunately for you, it is not so much your artistic gifts or creativity that is being discussed but instead your cognitive clarity, in other words… your sanity! I wish you the best. I hope that one day you will find out how miraculous and amazing life truly is. You know that need for attention that you feel, is a void that only God can fill for you.
— Karla Apr 24, 07:04 PM #
So many “I am pro-choice BUT…” comments. Are you pro-choice or aren’t you? Do women get to control their bodies or don’t they? This art project has made it clear that many people that call themselves “pro-choice” actually attach a lot of caveats to their stance and are only pro-choice when the circumstances suit them.
— ps Apr 29, 01:59 PM #
I am hardly in a position to judge any woman who has chosen to have an abortion. I will not deny that it is (or should be) a difficult and painful decision. How could it be otherwise? After all, it is a choice that runs counter to all of her instincts.
But if someone has made a poor choice, legal or no, do we do them a favor by not showing them the truth. If you met someone who said that he had killed his grandmother — he didn’t want to, but he had to because he couldn’t take care of her — would you say it was okay?
If you want to know what abortion looks like, if you want to see a shocking exhibit, you can go here.
http://jfaweb.org/exhibit.html
Ms. Shvarts’ project was not only disgusting, immoral, and revolting, it was unnecessary.
— becky Apr 29, 08:11 PM #
“Disgusting”, the most repeated adjective describing Ms. Shvarts’ creation, has also been applied to other, perhaps more now acceptable, artists. Three examples:
“Matisse, then 37, 12 years Picasso’s senior and markedly taller and more polished than the stocky, cocky Catalan, was ruler of the Paris roost. He had just painted Le Bonheur de Vivre, a breathtaking Arcadian landscape with figures that synthesized Giorgione, Ingres, Gauguin, Puvis de Chavannes, Czanne, Islamic art, Japanese prints and Signac (who called the painting “disgusting”), and contains virtually all the motifs Matisse would render for the rest of his life: musicians, dancers, and nudes. Eighteen months later he finished the raw, super-sexual Blue Nude: Memory of Biskra (1907).”
“The traditional Impressionists, who held beauty, fine art and technique to be all-important ingredients for good art saw the reality of the Ash Can school as artificial and purposely agitating and disgusting.”
“Post-Impressionism, when it first made its appearance in Canada, was not well received. It was written that John Lyman’s Wild Nature possessed “as much artistic skill as the well-known willow pattern on a plate” and was a “daub of crude colors.” Later articles described the art as “disastrous,” and “disgusting, sensual, leering, hideous figures, devoid of grace, devoid of humanity, devoid of anything save offensiveness,” and finally dubbed it a “blustering spirit.”
Today’s “disgusting” becomes tomorrow’s deity.
— richard Apr 29, 09:47 PM #
its her own choice.
— Andrew May 1, 07:11 PM #
It is not art!!!!! It is an intentional creation and destruction of life!!!!! It is simply sad that she can legally do this!!!…..It is not ART it is IMPAIRED COGNITIVE CLARITY!!!…She is sick.
— Karla May 3, 01:39 AM #
Did you follow up on this story? Was she allowed to graduate? It seems her entire project has ethical issues.
— Fellman May 6, 09:48 AM #
Rather than identify my position on abortion, I am going to say that women’s bodies are routinely treated as if they are public property or the private property of people other than the women who live in them.
What no one seems to be saying in comments at the Yale paper or here is that these dark moments that the artist records make visible the private pain women endure when they are caught in the struggle to control their own bodies.
It’s always a loser, right? Cave into pressure to have sex for the approval of men and then cave into the pressure not to “ruin your life,” as so many accuse pregnant young women of doing.
Where is the woman in all of it? I cannot see her, but through this project, I do see her pain.
— Liz May 6, 11:23 AM #