2008 Woodie Awards
Social boundaries unjustly busted in name of art
By: Sarah Kelly
Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Opinion
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Then if someone bought my ridiculous painting, I could prove the word "art" has lost its meaning.
Aliza Shvarts is an art student at Yale University whose senior art project pushes the definition of the word - which is quite an accomplishment considering the definition is so broad.
Her display was to feature video footage that documents a nine-month process in which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking herbal drugs to induce miscarriages, Yale Daily News reported. A large cube was supposed to be suspended from the ceiling and wrapped in hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting, and in between those layers would be the blood from the miscarriages, mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying. The video would be projected onto the four sides of the cube and similar footage would be projected on the walls of the display room.
The identities of the sperm donors have not been revealed, but Shvarts made them get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, Yale Daily News reported. At least she's consistent in her artistic approach. Shvarts doesn't want babies or diseases.
The university never gave her a chance to display her "art." University officials said she must admit the work was fiction in order to display it, but she would not, Yale Daily News reported.
I do believe a woman has a right to do with her body as she pleases, but how do self-inseminations and abortions fall under the category of art?
"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts told Yale Daily News. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."
But no one knows what art is "supposed to be." Shvarts thinks it should be political, but some think Thomas Kinkade's dreamy houses and landscapes are right on the money.
If Shvarts feels so passionate about it, maybe she should write letters to Merriam-Webster asking them to change the definition of the word "art" to read: "Noun: at-home inseminations and herbal-induced abortions," and show those Kinkade Krazies what's up.
Other pieces of art are less controversial but still contribute to the ambiguity of the word. A huge metal thing that looks like a jungle gym in the middle of a city plaza or a painting that looks like a 5-year-old created it and marked it up 300 percent or a sculpture that resembles nothing ever seen before are all classified as "art" these days.
Even spray paint on the side of an old building by a juvenile delinquent is considered art by some people. And then someone comes along and takes a black-and-white photograph of the tagged-up building and that's art, too.
The possibilities are endless.
It seems people can do whatever they want, put it on display and call it art. And if people disagree with the display, well then it's definitely art.
Sarah Kelly can be reached at
skelly@theorion.com
Related links
Yale University School of Art
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
katz
posted 7/06/08 @ 2:49 PM PST
Before reading this article, I was just wondering what art could really mean and if how to define something as an art. I guess it's always up to one's perception; well at least that's how I see it. (Continued…)
Sean
posted 7/12/08 @ 3:43 PM PST
Art is creation. I can draw a line on a piece of paper and it's art. Some Art is Fine, some is Crude, some is Accepted, most is Rejected. The point is, if we as humans never created outside of the imaginary boundaries decided by the majority numbed perceptions, we would have never gotten anywhere. (Continued…)
Silver
posted 8/04/08 @ 7:50 AM PST
Can you post your website please skelly. I have done a google and can not see it.
Thank you
Tan Silver
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