Jonathan Yegge

Jonathan Yegge was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2000, he presented a performance art piece that caused a lot of controversy. Yegge asked for a volunteer from his art class and had him sign a contract stating that he was agreeing to participate in a performance piece containing acts "including and up to a sexual or violent nature."¹ Yegge then led the volunteer out into a public area on campus, where he was tied up, blindfolded and gagged. The two men then took turns giving one another oral sex. The volunteer then received an enema, after which both men took turns defecating on one another.¹

Fast Facts

1. Volunteer was not publicly named
2. Yegge was placed on academic probation¹
3. As of 2008, Yegge worked at Fordham University at Lincoln Center²

Quotes

1. "He was pissed off, as he should be, He felt he was being violated. He just didn't think this was cool."—Ryan Castaneda, friend of the volunteer¹
2. "It's about pushing the notion of gay sex, pushing the notion of consent, pushing the notion of what's legal. We are living in the era of AIDS. This is about his responsibility, my responsibility."—Jonathan Yegge¹
3. "This question about whether or not you should push the edges where you can't really define the edges is an important one. If you don't do that, it becomes reactionary and stupid. If you do do that, there's the danger that it will go out of control."—Howard Fried, Instructor, New Genres department, San Francisco Art Institute¹

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