Apr 18, 2008 / 18:29 pm
The truth of a Yale art student’s claim that she artificially inseminated herself, induced miscarriages, and filmed the process for exhibition has been called into doubt. A spokesperson for the university characterized story as “performance art,” insisting there had been no self-impregnations and self-induced abortions.
The art student denied the university’s claim the story was an artistic hoax, saying the university was distancing itself from her project because of a “media frenzy.” However, the student admitted she was not sure whether she was ever pregnant when she supposedly attempted to induce the miscarriages.
Thursday news reports about art student Aliza Shvarts caused a storm of news coverage and commentary. Shvarts claimed the exhibit would "spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body," telling the Yale Daily News that she was not ashamed of the exhibition and had become “increasingly comfortable” discussing her induced miscarriages in everyday conversation.
Helaine Klasky, a Yale University spokesperson, said in a Thursday statement that Shvarts is “engaged in performance art.”