uncovered

Two people were playing chess at a card table set up on one of lawns on campus this morning. It wasn't particularly sunny, nor were the bike paths and sidewalks humming so early on Friday morning, but nevertheless there they were, a man and a woman, playing chess.

I didn't think anything of it until I glanced again and realized that the woman was naked. Completely naked, sitting with a crossed leg and arms in front of her chest, in the middle of campus.

Things just outside of the realm of "normal," even for a university, generally occur this time of year. One of the advanced art classes unleashes its artists and their comments on society upon the campus, artists who set up public displays that are designed to raise the eyebrows of the passersby. This year there was a man hidden in a tree, yelling compliments and insults down to walkers on the busy sidewalk underneath; a few students sitting in the middle of a saran-wrapped group of trees; a man riding his unicycle around and around the main roundabout on campus; an unbirthday party; and my personal favorite (aside from the naked chess player), a woman pretending to fish in the grimy campus pond.

I wondered why I hadn't noticed the naked woman before; surprised that my mind would see the other details of the scene, the chess pieces and the man's colorful hat, but not acknowledge the woman's obvious nakedness. I was also struck with concern, both because there was a chilly wind blowing and because one of the last sexual assaults that occurred on campus was in the early morning. And why did she choose Friday morning - the volume of visitors to campus, especially in the morning, is comparatively low after the Thursday night bar specials. The point behind such a performance was to incite thought, and she certainly got me thinking… so I rode by again about an hour later, just to see how other people reacted - especially boys -- now that the sun was a little higher in the sky. I didn't see much out of the ordinary, but as I was passing a man yelled at her, "Aren't you cold?" She replied cheerily, "Well I was a little before but now the sun's out."

It was interesting that she answered, chose to step out of her world, her objectivity in the eyes of others and interact with the student. She was just that when she wasn't speaking: an object. An object that was there, but wasn't, masked behind her art project. Talking to the student made it seem normal. Maybe it wasn't all that strange.