Artist sues Museum of Modern Art for failing to stop ‘groping’
A NUDE artist who performed in a Marina Abramovic exhibition is suing New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for allegedly failing to stop visitors from groping him.
John Bonafede claimed he was hired by the museum for the 2010 exhibition Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, for which his job was to stand naked while facing an unclothed woman who stood 18 inches away.
The pair were told to stare forward for 75 minutes at a time, with attendees urged to squeeze between them while moving between galleries.
In a lawsuit filed in New York State court on Monday, Mr Bonafede alleged that while undertaking the role he was assaulted seven times by older men in an “eerily similar” way. He claimed each man turned sideways to face him, before dropping their hand to “fondle and/or grope” his genitals.
They would then linger “for a moment before moving through into the next gallery room”. Mr Bonafede has claimed MOMA did not put any verbal or written warnings in places to tell attendees not to touch the nude artists.
Museum officials knew the groping was a “pervasive problem”, according to the lawsuit, and failed to “take reasonable corrective action”.
Mr Bonafede, who is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial, said he did not report the first assault because organisers had pushed a “tough it out” culture, the lawsuit alleged.
Another performer was fired for failing to remain completely still and Mr Bonafede initially kept quiet as he feared he would lose his job, according to the court filing.
Mr Bonafede alleged he alerted museum security for the six following instances of unwanted touching and the alleged offenders were removed from the exhibition.
According to the lawsuit, one of the supposed perpetrators was a MOMA corporate member who had his membership revoked. But Mr Bonafede claimed he was never given the identity of his harassers so he could pursue further action. Mr Bonafede said he has endured “years of emotional distress” that have affected his “mental health, body image, and career”.
The New York Times reported on artists being groped while performing nude at the exhibition at the time.
The Telegraph has approached MOMA for comment.