But, is it art? Or narcissism?

WSJ.com carries an op-ed piece by Michael J. Lewis which questions the manner in which art is being taught at Yale and other universities these days. He lights on a most extreme case--a woman who uses self-induced miscarriages as performance art.
Lewis' thesis is quite commonplace: that an apprentice artist should study “the tradition” before moving on to experimental art. His example is, to put it mildly, astounding. Aliza Shvarts, the artist in question, claims to be challenging the “reality of miscarriage” as it exists as a “linguistic” construction. By turning miscarriage into “art” she thinks she is taking away the power of those who use the word's negative connotations to control people. What will happen to our vocabulary of disapproval, should this trend continue? Are rape, murder, bigotry merely linguistic constructs? Can art really make them go away?

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