Alicia Shvarts' Controversial Abortion Art Project

Updated on April 18, 8:21 a.m.: According to Yale Daily News, Yale authorities are saying the earlier statements made by art student Aliza Shvarts were inaccurate. The university has released a press statement claiming that Shvarts was never pregnant nor did she have any miscarriage.

Rather, Miss Shvarts only created a "performance piece" meant to capture the attention of people and generate discussion. Shvarts, on the other hand, still claims she used a needle-less syringe to attempt to impregnate herself, and that she took drugs to induce abortion, but that she never knew if her menses were really miscarriages.

Regardless of the fact that Shvarts may never have been pregnant or inflicted self-induced miscarriages, this exhibit still provokes one to ask "what are the boundaries of art?"

Original story, April 18, 12:05 a.m.:

According to Yale Daily News, Alicia Shvarts - a senior at Yale University - has decided to put her own twist on art. Rather than painting a barn for her senior project, she has undertaken a nine-month long project and documented the results on video camera. What is this project? Shvarts underwent artificial insemination "as often as possible" and then induced miscarriages. Accompanying her video footage of the forced miscarriages is preserved collections of blood.

She plans on hanging a large cube from the ceiling, wrapping it in plastic, between layers of plastic she will have the blood, and then the footage of the miscarriages in her bathtub will be projected on the sides of the cube. People on both sides of the abortion debate are appalled by this exhibit. Those advocating freedom of choice claim that she is trivializing the rights of women to choose. Those advocating the rights of the fetus to live are claiming she's morally reprehensible for utilizing a life in order to fuel her artwork. Neither side is focusing on the artwork itself, but rather they are focusing on the methods used to create the artwork.

Shvarts is not the only one to create a controversial piece of art. In 1989, a piece titled "Piss Christ" generated quite a bit of controversy. Its artist, Andres Serrano urinated in a jar and placed a small, plastic crucifix into the jar then photographed it.

Another work of art creating a bit of controversy is Leon Golub's Interrogation III. This work created controversy due to the graphic nature of the woman depicted. The nature of the work is intended to stir emotion and make a political statement, as Shvarts claims she is doing with her work of art.

Eric Fischl has also stirred up emotion among viewers of his work. He depicts adolescent sexuality and voyeurism in his works. His work Tumbling Woman depicted a woman falling from the towers of the World Trade Center at the 9/11 attacks.

Jock Sturges, a photographer is no stranger to controversy when it concerns his artwork. His artwork depicts young adolescent and pre-adolescent girls in the nude. Many people have argued that his work is child pornography. And some have even petitioned bookstores such as Barnes and Noble to avoid selling his books.

In San Francisco, the San Francisco Art Institute was forced to close down an art exhibit just weeks ago due to threats from animal rights activists. The exhibit was Adel Abdessemed's and titled "Don't Trust Me." It depicted animals being hit by sledgehammers on video.

While some of the artwork is controversial because it takes on religious themes, or depicts sexually graphic scenes, or nudity, some artwork goes too far. Exhibits displaying harm to animals or humans cross the boundaries as to what ought to be acceptable. The difference may lie in the concept of harm. If someone or other is being harmed in order to create the artwork, such as in the piece with the sledgehammers, then it would seem as though it is over the top. Shvarts piece is interesting - in one aspect it calls us to question "who is being harmed?" in another, it offends the moral sense. Whichever side of the abortion debates a person is on, this exhibit is sure to stir up conversation.