A former nude artist claims in a new lawsuit that staff at New York's Museum of Modern Art “turned a blind eye” and didn't do enough to prevent patrons from groping his genitals during an exhibition performance. are doing.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan court, John Bonafede claims that his genitals were removed by five different men on seven different occasions during a 2010 exhibit called “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Exists.” He claims he was fondled.
Bonafede was working as a “reperformer” at the time, recreating some of Abramovic's past works for special exhibitions.
His task, in a piece titled “Imponderabilia,” was to stand completely still for 75 minutes, staring ahead at a woman staring back at him in a similar pose.
As part of the exhibit, attendees were encouraged to weave between two performers to enter the next gallery.
But Bonafede claims that on seven different occasions, an “older man” fondled her in an “eerily similar” manner. The lawsuit was obtained by The Post.
In each case, the man turned sideways toward Bonafede, dropped his hand, “caressed and played with” his genitals, and “lingered for a while before moving on to the next exhibit,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleges that one of the men assaulted the plaintiff in front of MOMA security, and that the other “was recorded live by a camera crew that happened to be filming the plaintiff's performance at the time.” “It was.”
The third person moved around the exhibit hall three different times, “each time groping Plaintiff's genitals without her consent, until he was finally stopped by MOMA security,” according to the complaint.
“The sole purpose of such sexual contact was to degrade and abuse Plaintiff and to gratify the sexual desires of the perpetrators who were present,” the complaint states, adding that the molestation “did not cause Plaintiff any bodily harm.” posed a significant risk of injury to the plaintiff's genitals and/or sexually transmitted diseases.''
Bonafede claims he did not report the initial assault to museum officials because he felt the museum and exhibit staff were taking a “harsh stance” in dealing with unexpected situations.
One performer was also fired for not standing perfectly still on the first day of the exhibit, and suggested to Bonafide that he keep quiet to avoid the same thing happening to him.
“As a result of the messages received during the MOMA-funded and MOMA-supervised training with Abramovich…plaintiffs were enculturated into a MOMA-sanctioned communal belief system in which re-performers remained silent and unwavering in their actions. “Performers in attendance who were expected to comply may choose to engage in activities that include repeated acts of sexual assault,” the lawsuit alleges.
But the suit says other performers reported similar behavior, and Bonafede alerted museum security to each of the following incidents, including one performer who told The Post at the time: One person was also included.
“Sometimes you get that feeling of, 'Oh, this is kind of gross,' and then it goes away,” says Matthew Rogers.
Eventually, the museum admitted it was having problems with people fumbling with the models.
“We are very aware of the challenges posed by the presence of nude performers in the galleries of this exhibition,” the museum said in a statement to the Post at the time.
“Visitors who inappropriately touch or interfere with performers will be removed from the museum by MoMA security.”
The museum is also said to have adopted a “signal system” to warn of assaults and created a handbook outlining how to deal with visitors who misbehave.
But the museum never posted signs or verbally warned museum visitors to keep their hands off the exhibits, and museum staff said Bonafede He refused to provide Mr. Bonafede with the identity of the person who allegedly harassed him in order to press charges, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the inappropriate contact, Bonafede suffered “years of 'home garden'-like emotional distress” and “severely harmed her mental health, body image, and career.” There is.
He is currently suing under the New York Adult Survivors Act, seeking an undetermined amount of damages.
The filing period under the law expired last year, but the complaint says Bonafede was granted an agreed-upon extension before the window closed.
The newspaper has contacted New York's Museum of Modern Art for comment.
