The Journal

Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: News

SULPOVAR

The student charged with indecent exposure at the Webster University career fair Nov. 1, has stated the incident was a performance art piece. In his blog, Misha Sulpovar, an art and religious studies major, said the alleged exposure was one in a series of social experiments meant to assess cultural taboos in society involving awkwardness around the human body.

Lieutenant Stephen Spear of the Webster Groves Police Department (WGPD) said the police were called to Webster after a report of indecent exposure. Spear wouldn't confirm the suspect's name, but said the suspect approached a table at the career fair with genitalia exposed through a pant zipper. After inquiring if there were any job openings with the company, Spear said the suspect then colored on his genitals with a highlighter from the company's table.

In his blog, http://mishasulpovar.blogspot.com/, Sulpovar described his experiment as such: "I go out to a populated, neutral, public place with an unzipped fly and what appears to be scrotum-like flesh hanging out. I would walk around seemingly unaware of this detail and note peoples' reactions."

In an interview, Sulpovar would neither confirm nor deny whether he actually exposed himself and said the question itself was becoming just as much a part of the experiment as the act itself.

"The reaction completely changes when you change the narration behind the image," Sulpovar said. "Real or fake are two separate narratives."

Sulpovar was issued three summonses to appear in court on Dec. 14: one for the charge of indecent exposure and the other two for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana.

By Missouri law, indecent exposure is second-degree sexual misconduct and considered a class B misdemeanor. Persons convicted of indecent exposure are required to register on the state list of sex offenders. Both the drug paraphernalia and possession charges are misdemeanors.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools