Cornell Rape Allegation Revives Emma Sulkowicz's 2014 Mattress Performance
A 2014 art piece has resurfaced online due to a recent rape allegation at Cornell University. Back in September 2014, Emma Sulkowicz started carrying a heavy blue mattress weighing 23kg around Columbia University, claiming she had been assaulted by a fellow student two years earlier. This mattress, reminiscent of those found in dorms, was part of her senior thesis in visual arts. It drew attention to the lack of legal action against her alleged attacker, who remained on campus. As she moved with the mattress, many bystanders chose to help her, and she kept a diary of their interactions. Sulkowicz later explained to writer Jessica Valenti that she opted for a mattress to symbolize the burden of being overlooked by the school. This piece fits into a broader tradition of anti-rape art, which is now being reevaluated due to the allegation at Cornell, prompting discussions about the impact of such artwork on real change.
Key facts
- Emma Sulkowicz began carrying a 23kg blue mattress around Columbia University's campus in September 2014
- The mattress resembled those used in Columbia University dorm rooms in New York
- Sulkowicz said she had been raped by a fellow student two years before the performance began
- The endurance piece doubled as her visual art senior thesis
- The work drew attention to the lack of criminal charges against her alleged attacker and his continued presence at the university
- Bystanders could choose to help Sulkowicz carry the mattress, and many did
- Sulkowicz kept a diary recording responses to the piece
- She told writer Jessica Valenti she chose the mattress over a pillow so people would see how being ignored by the school administration weighs a person down
- The 2014 performance went viral again in response to a rape allegation at Cornell University
- Anti-rape art has a radical, rage-fuelled history stretching back hundreds of years
Entities
Artists
- Emma Sulkowicz
- Jessica Valenti
Institutions
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- The Guardian
Locations
- New York
- United States