The internationally reported art project of a Yale University art major who said she would document a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs, has been revealed as a hoax.

Yale released a statement today indicating that senior student Aliza Shvarts “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 statement added, “The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman

Did anyone actually see this reported *before* this outing as a hoax?

Sacre merde! That’s art? I think I’d prefer a velvet painting of kittens!

I never really did get performance art. 

Sounds more like a publicity stunt to me, though.

This lassie was obviously trying to make a name for herself but it doesn’t seem like anyone much gave a shit.

Now it she’d have thought of Bonsai Kittens…

Perception Manager - 19 April 2008 02:58 AM

Here’s a photo of the vile creature.  Sort of looks like Amy Winehouse, no?

Ummm…
Not really, other than having dark hair and being female.

Well this isn’t exactly a news site, but:

She says it’s not a hoax

“For the past year, I performed repeated self-induced miscarriages. I created a group of fabricators from volunteers who submitted to periodic STD screenings and agreed to their complete and permanent anonymity. From the 9th to the 15th day of my menstrual cycle, the fabricators would provide me with sperm samples, which I used to privately self-inseminate. Using a needleless syringe, I would inject the sperm near my cervix within 30 minutes of its collection, so as to insure the possibility of fertilization. On the 28th day of my cycle, I would ingest an abortifacient, after which I would experience cramps and heavy bleeding.

To protect myself and others, only I know the number of fabricators who participated, the frequency and accuracy with which I inseminated and the specific abortifacient I used. Because of these measures of privacy, the piece exists only in its telling. This telling can take textual, visual, spatial, temporal and performative forms

Even in someone who believes in abortion (I don’t) this would have to illicit digust.  Surely no one meant such a difficult choice/decision was never intended to be so casual.

That’s a tremendous slap in the face to any of the many, many women who have suffered the trauma of a miscarriage. If it’s true.

Perception Manager,

I don’t stand behind what she has done at all, but please refrain from calling her or anyone else names like that on this forum.

It’s in poor form, especially when you concede that she is also probably mentally ill, and it only reflects poorly on your own character.

I seriously doubt that it *is* true, but if it is, then…

First off, I seriously challenge the claim that this is indicative of mental illness. Why should it be? Her explanation sounds pretentious, but pretention is hardly an indicator for mental illness.

Second, why should she *not* do this if she wants? Self-medicating with ‘abortifacient herbs’ (ie unregulated treatments in naturally variable doses with no assuranced of safety or efficacy and a real risk of unassessed side-effects) is risky and stupid, but people do as much all the time (alt med is big business). But it’s worth bearing in mind how soon after insemination she ‘aborted’: 13-19 days, meaning 4-11 days after implantation of the conceptus. That’s a pretty damn immature embryo - think 3mm at most, looking something like this. It’s also at a stage when many women miscarry without even knowing about it (this study, for example, suggests that as much as 25% of pregnancies miscarry before the 6th week, mostly without the woman even knowing she’s been pregnant).

So before we get into the abuse, how about keeping a sense of perspective on what would be being ‘aborted’ - even if she *was* actually trying this, and even if she *was* getting pregnant. For neither of which, as she says, there is no evidence whatever…

Like I said on the main blog page: Shock Value. Publicity Stunt. Attention Whore.

True or not, she’s mashing a hot button good and hard while screaming ‘Lookit me! Lookit mee! Loook at meeeee!!!’.

No, it’s not art. Art requires talent and skill. If I defecate onto a photograph, it is not art, no matter how much pretentious crap I spout from my other end claiming otherwise.