Last week it was an Ottawa mom planning to stream her delivery live on the internet. Now a performance artist from New York plans to give birth in an art gallery.
Marni Kotak has arranged to have her baby -- a 'project' she's dubbed “The Birth Of Baby X” -- at the Microscope Gallery in Bushwick. Not surprisingly, the theme to her show is procreation.
“I hope that people will see that human life itself is the most profound work of art, and that therefore giving birth, the greatest expression of life, is the highest form of art,” Kotak said.
The gallery, which will be decked out with an inflatable birthing tub, a bed, a shower and a rocking chair, sounds a far cry better than many delivery rooms!
A midwife will attend the performance, and interested visitors will be alerted via email when Kotak goes into labour so they can make their way to the gallery to watch the display.
Let's hope guests bring their sleeping bags, as the average first-time labour lasts 24 hours.
Of course the history of performance art is full of blood and gore. Chris Burden reportedly shot himself in the arm in a "flesh-ripping, seminal piece".
Then there was the 1970s installation by Mary Kelly, “Post Partum Document” by Mary Kelly, in which Kelly obsessively documented mementos of her baby’s first year – spit-up on a burping cloth, a diaper pin, etc.
Do you think there is any difference between the birth coach Salguiero broadcasting her birth and Kotak's 'performance'? Or are both instances equally exploitative and exhibitionist?
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