A former nude artist claims in a new lawsuit that Museum of Modern Art staff “turned a blind eye” and did not do enough to prevent patrons from touching his genitals while he was performing at an exhibition.
John Bonafede argues in the lawsuit filed Monday in a Manhattan court that his genitals were fondled by five different men on seven different occasions at an exhibit called “Marina Abramovich: The Artist is Present” in 2010.
Bonafede was working at the time as a “Re-Performer,” which meant recreating some of Abramovich’s earlier works for a special exhibition.
His job was to stand completely still for 75 minutes and stare at a woman who stared back at him in a similar pose in a piece titled “Imponderabilia.”
As part of the exhibit, attendees were encouraged to squeeze between the two artists to enter the next gallery.
But on seven different occasions, Bonafede claims he was fondled in “eerily similar” ways, all by “older men,” according to the lawsuit obtained by The Post.
In each case, he says, the man turned to the side to face Bonafede, lowered his hand and “caressed and/or fondled” his genitals, “lingering for a moment before moving on to the next room in the gallery.”
John Bonafede claims he was groped by five men on seven different occasions while standing completely still in a work titled “Imponderabilia.” image alliance via Getty Images
One of the men allegedly assaulted him in front of a MOMA security guard, and another was “recorded live by a camera crew, who happened to be filming Plaintiff’s performance at the time,” the lawsuit states.
A third completed three different tours around the exhibit “non-consensually touching Plaintiff’s genitals each time before he was finally stopped by MOMA security,” according to the lawsuit.
“The sole purpose of such sexual contact was to degrade or abuse Plaintiff and satisfy the sexual desire of the assisting offender,” the suit states, stating that the groping “posed a serious risk of physical injury to Plaintiff, including the risk of causing personal injury.” a Genitals of the plaintiff and/or risk of sexually transmitted infection.”
Bonafede states that he did not report the first attack to the museum staff because he felt that the museum and exhibition staff had adopted a “hold out” attitude to deal with any unforeseen event. Instagram/John Bonafede
Bonafede states that he did not report the first attack to the museum staff because he felt that the museum and exhibition staff had adopted a “hold out” attitude to deal with any unforeseen event.
An artist was also fired on the first day of the exhibition for not standing completely still and suggested Bonafide stay quiet to prevent the same thing from happening to him.
“As a result of the messages he received during his MOMA-funded and supervised training with Abramovic…the plaintiff was acculturated into a MOMA-sanctioned communal belief system to which Re-Artists were expected to submit, silently and unwaveringly.” , to any behavior. “Attending artists could choose to participate, including repeated acts of sexual assault,” the lawsuit states.
Bonafede was working at the time as a “Re-Performer,” recreating some of Abramovich’s earlier works for a special exhibition. dpa/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
But the lawsuit says Bonafede alerted museum security about each of the following incidents, as other artists reported similar behavior, including one artist who told The Post at the time: “It may be a little iffy.
“Sometimes there’s that feeling of ‘Oh, this is kind of gross,’ and then it goes away,” Matthew Rogers said.
Eventually, the museum acknowledged that it had problems with people touching its models.
“We are acutely aware of the challenges posed by having nude artists in the galleries of this exhibition,” the museum said in a statement to The Post at the time.
“Any visitor who inappropriately touches or disturbs any of the artists will be escorted out of the museum by MoMA security.”
The museum also allegedly adopted a “signal system” to flag assaults and created a manual that outlined a protocol for how to handle attendees after they acted inappropriately.
However, she never posted any signs or verbally warned museum-goers to keep their hands to themselves as they passed through the exhibit, and museum staff refused to provide Bonafede with the identities of her alleged harassers so she could press charges, the police claim. demand.
The museum finally acknowledged that it was having problems with people groping naked artists. Robert Miller
As a result of the gratuitous contact, the lawsuit claims that Bonafede suffered “years of ‘garden-type’ emotional distress” and has caused her “mental health, body image, and career to be significantly harmed.”
He has now filed suit under the New York Adult Survivors Act and is seeking an undetermined amount of damages.
The deadline to file a complaint under the law expired last year, but the lawsuit says Bonafede was granted an extension that was agreed upon before the deadline closed.
The Post has contacted the Museum of Modern Art for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn