Vito Acconci

Psychological and confrontational. These are two words used to describe Acconci's works from the 70's. He wants to clash against the norm, to push himself onto the viewer and cause them to think. In achieving this aim he is largely successful. He indeed manages to invade one's comfort zone to the point of intense discomfort.

Carl spoke accurately in mentioning the creep factor, Acconci is quite abrasive and almost reminds me of a serial rapist in leer and tone. This is exactly the way he wants to draw in the viewer. He wants them to experience himself and his body up close and personal on the small 13 inch (or so) video monitor he would have been projected on in a 1970's gallery installation. The graininess and lack of editing abilities did in fact create limitations that artists needed to work around when conceptualizing their pieces. Acconci chose an abrasive and confrontational direct address approach and desired the viewer to see him life-size in the small video screen and feel as though they might come right into the space with him.

Many of his methods and ideas of video making are no longer relevant or necessary due to the advances in technology and I wonder if due to these advances it would explain Acconci's shift to now more architechtural artistic approaches. Once the medium lost its inherent video qualities and became more cinematic maybe he no longer felt it had the same appeal and interest. Maybe he simply got out all of his sexual angst in the 70's and has since mellowed with age. I don't know the answer to that, but to see the wide changes in technology over the past 35 years is amazing and possibly for him not a positive thing in light of how video should be for everyone but now video is largely among the ranks of the film. YouTube and Google videos still remain the low-tech voice of the people, accessible to all with a camera and waiting to be viewed by whoever desires. Acconci in his day would have thrived in this realm, though I have a feeling the censor's would have pulled his work down based on his provocative subject matter. :)