Vito Acconci
“Association Area” 1971
DVD
B&W, sound
1:02
Courtesy of Video Data Bank, Chicago, IL www.vdb.org
Association Area, 1971
As a document of an early performance, this tape details the process of orientating the body and self in space, providing a physical metaphor for the process of adjusting oneself in society. "Blindfolded, ears plugged, our goal is to sense each other's movement and bearing, to attempt to assume the same movement and bearing. An off-screen voice, heard only by the audience, gives directions that would help us attain our goal."
—Vito Acconci
Biography
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 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.
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