Vito Acconci

Born -

A poet of the New York school in the early- and mid-1960s, Vito Acconci moved toward performance, sound, and video work by the end of the decade. Acconci changed direction in order to "define [his] body in space, find a ground for [him]self, an alternate ground for the page ground [he] had as a poet." Acconci’s early performances—including Claim (1971) and Seedbed (1972)—were extremely controversial, transgressing assumed boundaries between public and private space, and between audience and performer. Positioning his own body as the simultaneous subject and object of the work, Acconci’s early video tapes took advantage of the medium’s self-reflexive potential in mediating his own and the viewer’s attention. Consistently exploring the dynamics of intimacy, trust, and power, the focus of Acconci’s projects gradually moved from his physical body (Conversions, 1971) toward the psychology of interpersonal transactions (Pryings, 1971), and later, to the cultural and political implications of the performative space he set up for the camera (The Red Tapes, 1976). Since the late '70s, Acconci has designed architectural and installation works for public spaces.

Also see:

Vito Acconci: An Interview

Vito Acconci–Conversations

Artist Collection List

Title Year Runtime Collection
Association Area 1971 1 hour 2 minutes 13 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Centers 1971 22 minutes 43 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Claim Excerpts 1971 1 hour 20 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Command Performance 1973 57 minutes 23 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Face-Off 1972 32 minutes 54 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Open Book 1974 9 minutes 10 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Pryings 1971 17 minutes 38 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Remote Control 1971 1 hour 2 minutes 15 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Sounding Board 1970 21 minutes 26 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Surveying the First Decade: Video Art and Alternative Media in the U.S. 1968-1980 1995 16 hours 26 minutes Box Sets, Curated Compilations
Surveying the First Decade: Volume 1 1995 7 hours 25 minutes 25 seconds Box Sets, Curated Compilations
The Red Tapes 1976 2 hours 20 minutes Early Video Art, Single Titles
Theme Song 1973 33 minutes 17 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Turn-On 1974 21 minutes 56 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Undertone 1972 37 minutes 20 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles
Waterways: 4 Saliva Studies 1971 22 minutes 25 seconds Early Video Art, Single Titles