Vito Acconci

Vito Acconci
Acconci in 1973
Born
Vito Hannibal Acconci

(1940-01-24)January 24, 1940
New York City, U.S.[1]
DiedApril 27, 2017(2017-04-27) (aged 77)
New York City, U.S.
EducationCollege of the Holy Cross (BA)
University of Iowa (MFA)
Known forLandscape architect
Installation art
Performance art
Video art
Notable work0 to 9
Websitewww.acconci.com
Crash, photointaglio, aquatint, relief and shaped embossing by Acconci, 1985
Face of the Earth, #3, sculpture by Acconci, 1988
City of Words, lithograph by Acconci, 1999
Murinsel (in the night) in Graz, Austria

Vito Acconci (Italian: [ˈviːto akˈkontʃi], /əˈkɒntʃi/; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017)[2][3] was an American performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His performance and video art[4] was characterized by "existential unease," exhibitionism, discomfort, transgression and provocation, as well as wit and audacity,[3] and often involved crossing boundaries such as public–private, consensual–nonconsensual, and real world–art world.[5][6] His work is considered to have influenced artists including Laurie Anderson, Karen Finley, Bruce Nauman, and Tracey Emin, among others.[5]

Acconci was initially interested in radical poetry, creating 0 to 9 Magazine, but by the late 1960s he began creating Situationist-influenced performances in the street or for small audiences that explored the body and public space. Two of his most famous pieces were Following Piece (1969), in which he selected random passersby on New York City streets and followed them for as long as he was able, and Seedbed (1972), in which he claimed that he masturbated while under a temporary floor at the Sonnabend Gallery, as visitors walked above and heard him speaking.[7]

In the late-1970s, he turned to sculpture, architecture and design, greatly increasing the scale of his work, if not his art world profile.[3] Over the next two decades he developed public artworks and parks, airport rest areas, artificial islands and other architectural projects that frequently embraced participation, change and playfulness. Notable works of this period include: Personal Island, designed for Zwolle, the Netherlands (1994); Walkways Through the Wall at the Wisconsin Center, in Milwaukee, WI (1998); and Murinsel, for Graz, Austria (2003). Retrospectives of Acconci's work have been organized by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (1978) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1980), and his work is in numerous public collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. He has been recognized with fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1976, 1980, 1983, 1993), John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1979), and American Academy in Rome (1986).[6] In addition to his art and design work, Acconci taught at many higher learning institutions. Acconci died on April 28, 2017, in Manhattan at age 77.

  1. ^ Kennedy, Randy (2 June 2016). "Vito Acconci, an Artist as Influential as He Is Eccentric". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ Russeth, Andrew (28 April 2017). "Vito Acconci, Whose Poetic, Menacing Work Forms Bedrock of Performance, Video Art, Dies at 77". ARTnews. Sarah Douglas. Art Media. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Kennedy, Randy (April 28, 2017). "Vito Acconci, Performance Artist and Uncommon Architect, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  4. ^ Scott, Andrea K. (April 28, 2017). "Postscript: Vito Acconci, 1940–2017". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Capps, Kriston (May 3, 2017). "Vito Acconci and the Shelf Life of Sensational Art". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Vito Acconci, Guggenheim Collection Online". Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Seedbed, Vito Acconci, The Met Collection Online". Metropolitan Museum of New York. Retrieved March 20, 2018.