Vito Acconci, 2012
Oil on linen, 58” x 38”
Vito Acconci is a poet, designer, installation and performance artist. Vito was born in the Bronx in 1940. Vito is undoubtedly one of the most important conceptual artists of our time and is in many ways an art legend. He is an artist whose career has stretched across decades with work that might seem incongruous. He received great notoriety and fame from his early performance works. Eventually his work would become predominately architectural, yet engaging and blurring the edges between art and architecture. From a wall of earth that moves into the building to subway walls that slide up and down or bulge in and out. Vito invites the public to experience the built environment by questioning its function visually. Vito’s work moves from the physical to the verbal. His voice is memorable; often described as a ‘gravelly rumble,’ a rumble that melds with his New York accent reflecting his Bronx roots. Onomatopoeic words mimic the sounds they represent, such as hiss, thud or meow. Not unlike the way Vito’s words often express the architectural form or movement in their descriptive sound and articulation. It is something that must be heard to fully understand an aspect of this subject that cannot be caught in paint.
I met Vito Acconci in the early 1990’s, working with him on a couple of public art projects over the years. On the day I went to photograph him at his studio, on the Brooklyn waterfront, we walked around the neighborhood, talking most of the time. We talked while I photographed him. For the painting, I ended up referencing several photos in order to catch Vito in a particular pose that captured him.
Oil on linen, 58” x 38”
Vito Acconci is a poet, designer, installation and performance artist. Vito was born in the Bronx in 1940. Vito is undoubtedly one of the most important conceptual artists of our time and is in many ways an art legend. He is an artist whose career has stretched across decades with work that might seem incongruous. He received great notoriety and fame from his early performance works. Eventually his work would become predominately architectural, yet engaging and blurring the edges between art and architecture. From a wall of earth that moves into the building to subway walls that slide up and down or bulge in and out. Vito invites the public to experience the built environment by questioning its function visually. Vito’s work moves from the physical to the verbal. His voice is memorable; often described as a ‘gravelly rumble,’ a rumble that melds with his New York accent reflecting his Bronx roots. Onomatopoeic words mimic the sounds they represent, such as hiss, thud or meow. Not unlike the way Vito’s words often express the architectural form or movement in their descriptive sound and articulation. It is something that must be heard to fully understand an aspect of this subject that cannot be caught in paint.
I met Vito Acconci in the early 1990’s, working with him on a couple of public art projects over the years. On the day I went to photograph him at his studio, on the Brooklyn waterfront, we walked around the neighborhood, talking most of the time. We talked while I photographed him. For the painting, I ended up referencing several photos in order to catch Vito in a particular pose that captured him.