Openings (1970) by Vito Acconci
Saturday, November 12, 1988, 8:00 pm
An Evening With Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci in person
Since his earliest works as a visual artist during the late 1960s, Vito Acconci has become one of the most influential artists of his generation. Acconci’s work in performance, sculpture, body work, film and video have defied taboos about institutional improprieties and sexuality. For tonight’s program Acconci will present a selection of super-8 films and videotapes made during the early 1970s in which he acted as principal performer in physical actions which confront the viewer. In Openings (1970), a stationary camera records a close-up of Acconci’s navel, as he deliberately pulls out hairs surrounding it; Conversions, Part One (1971) records Acconci manipulating parts of his naked body, testing their limits and questioning the nature of his own sexuality.