Ms. Sulkowicz spoke of her interest in the kind of art that elicits a powerful response, whether negative or positive. Freshly painted on the walls around us loomed big black letters spelling out the “rules of engagement,” the guidelines to her performance: One states that she will continue the piece until the man she accuses of attacking her is no longer on campus, whether he leaves or is expelled or graduates, as she also will next spring. (If need be, she plans to attend commencement carrying the mattress.) She said the performance is giving her new muscles and an inner strength she didn’t know she had, and is attracting many different kinds of attention, some of it hard to take.
“Carry That Weight” is both singular and representative of a time of strongly held opinions and objections and righteous anger on all sides, a time when, not surprisingly, political protest and performance art are intersecting in increasingly adamant ways. NYT: In a Mattress, a Lever for Art and Political Protest.
- More coverage.
- Emma Sulkowicz on Facebook and on Twitter.
- NY Mag: Meet the College Women Who Are Starting a Revolution Against Campus Sexual Assault
- Huffington Post: Fraternity Suspended After Accusations It Used Color-Coded System To Drug Female Students
- NYT/Op-Doc: Brown’s ‘Rape List,’ Revisited
- — List Of Alleged Rapists Distributed At University Of Chicago
- — ‘UChicago Electronic Army’ Targets Sexual Assault Survivor
