Controversial Art Piece at Yale a "Creative Fiction"

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A Yale art student who had ignited controversy by claiming she had repeatedly inseminated herself and induced miscarriages as part of a performance-art project has admitted that the stories are false, and that they themselves are the artwork, reports the New York Times.

Aliza Shvarts told the Yale Daily News that she had inseminated herself "as often as possible" over nine months and then taken herbal abortifacients to end the multiple pregnancies. She said she had made videos of herself miscarrying that she planned to show in a student exhibition next week along with her own blood.

The university responded in a statement that the performance art piece "includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. [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: “She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art. Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.”