Vito Acconci

"Every artwork falls under--on the part of both artist and viewer--the assumption of an atmosphere of authoritarianism. The artwork makes an appearance as if out of nowhere, as if it's existed from all time. Since you can't put your finger on where it began, the piece presents itself to be wondered at, venerated (whether for reasons of finance or 'culture')--the art, in other words, is bigger than you are."
Vito Acconci, excerpted from Vito Acconci: Writings, Works, Projects, published by Poligrafa.

Vito Acconci was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1940. Early performances like "Seedbed," in which he lay hidden under a gallery floor and masturbated audibly, changed the terms of performance and body art forever, and are still considered seminal. Among the many public institutions that have hosted solo exhibitions of his work in the United States are the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. He has taught at Cooper Union, Parsons School of Design and Yale University. Acconci is also well known for his recent work as an architect and landscape designer, as well as his earliest work as a poet and publisher of experimental poetry of the 1960s. In 2007, Acconci designed an opaque suspended bookstore for Artbook @ The Armory.

ACTIVE BACKLIST

0 TO 9
Edited by Vito Acconci and Bernadette Mayer.
UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE/LOST LITERATURE SERIES
ISBN: 9781933254203 | US $45.00
Pub Date: 10/15/2006
Active | Awaiting stock

VITO ACCONCI: DIARY OF A BODY 1969 -1973
Text by Gregory Volk, Vito Acconci.
CHARTA
ISBN: 9788881584772 | US $69.95
Pub Date: 8/2/2004
Active | In stock

VITO ACCONCI: WRITINGS, WORKS, PROJECTS
Essays by Vito Acconci and Gloria Moure.
POLIGRAFA
ISBN: 9788434308947 | US $60.00
Pub Date: 8/2/2001
Active | Awaiting stock

OUT OF PRINT LISTING

VITO ACCONCI: BUILDING AN ISLAND
HATJE CANTZ PUBLISHERS
ISBN: 9783775713573 | US $24.95
Pub Date: 2/2/2004
Out of print | Not available

VITO ACCONCI: COURTYARD IN THE WIND
Edited by Heinz Schütz.
HATJE CANTZ PUBLISHERS
ISBN: 9783775791458 | US $15.00
Pub Date: 9/2/2003
Out of print | Not available

VITO ACCONCI/STEVEN HOLL: STOREFRONT GALLERY
Edited by Edelbert Kob. Essay by Arno Ritter.
HATJE CANTZ PUBLISHERS
ISBN: 9783775710015 | US $16.95
Pub Date: 2/2/2001
Out of print | Not available

Vito Acconci

0 To 9

The Complete Magazine, 1967-1969

Edited by Vito Acconci and Bernadette Mayer.
Published by Ugly Duckling Presse/Lost Literature Series

Published from 1967 to 1969 in seven limited mimeographed editions, 0 to 9 was edited by artist Vito Acconci and poet Bernadette Mayer. Seeking to explore the relationship between language and the page, Mayer and Acconci brought together the pioneers of 1960s experimental poetry and conceptual art. Sol LeWitt, Adrian Piper, Dan Graham, Ted Berrigan, Clark Coolidge, Robert Barry, Les Levine, Robert Smithson, Hannah Weiner, Emmett Williams, Dick Higgins, Yvonne Rainer, Aram Saroyan, Bernar Venet, Alan Sondheim and the editors themselves are but a few of the artists and writers who appeared in 0 to 9.

Vito Acconci: Diary of a Body 1969 -1973

Text by Gregory Volk, Vito Acconci.
Published by Charta

Between 1969 and 1973, Vito Acconci's creative output was focused on body pieces and performances, many of them seminal works now firmly lodged in the art historical canon of the time. Whether he was transforming space by masturbating under a platform extension of the gallery floor or transforming the body by tucking his genitals between his legs, Acconci promoted a radical, corporeal method of working with the human presence that has remained relevant in these less performative times. This publication traces the development of Acconci's early work through his own writings and documentations from that time. Rather than a critical study, it offers invaluable primary source materials: For each of the approximately 200 performances/works included, Acconci drafted meticulous notes, mapping out his ideas and describing the specifications of each piece. Many of the artist's works were ephemeral performances and actions, and these primary source materials are now the only extant artifacts from the work. Thus the book's contents come directly from Acconci's personal archives, and include his notes and documentations, plus photographs, where available. An introduction by Gregory Volk provides historical context and addresses the issues of body art and performance still relevant today.

Vito Acconci: Building An Island

Edited by Robert Punkenhofer. Essays by Oliver Elser and Robert Punkenhofer. Interview by Heike Faller.
Published by Hatje Cantz Publishers

It seems as if a UFO has landed in the middle of Graz: an organic form, evoking a half shell or a snail's shell, is floating on the Mur river as an artificial island, connected by piers to both river banks. The steel construction was designed by the architect-artist Vito Acconci, based on a concept by Robert Punkenhofer, a native of Graz, and realized within the scope of "Graz 2003: Cultural Capital of Europe." Acconci Island, consisting of various interlocking surfaces with flowing transitions, houses an amphitheatre, a cafª, and a playground. Large parts of its outer stainless-steel skin reflect the city; acrylic fiber, glass, steel grids, and peepholes provide a view onto the water and the banks, while the transparent materials make the building look weightless. The result is a breathtaking, technically sophisticated avant-garde piece of architecture that refuses categorization. This publication documents the different stages of design, and places sketches and computer simulations next to remarkable photographs of models as well as shots of the finished island. An interview with Vito Acconci and a presentation of the diverse work of the Acconci Studio round off the book.

Vito Acconci: Courtyard In The Wind

Edited by Heinz Schütz.
Published by Hatje Cantz Publishers

From his radical performances at the beginning of the 70s to the unusual architectural designs he's created since the end of the 80s, Vito Acconci has more often than not concerned himself with the definition of the public via the body. Courtyard in the Wind, created for the Munich architectural department's new home, was the first permanent structure by Acconci to be realized in a public space. A revolving ring of landscapes set in the building's courtyard, the sculpture moves with the help of the wind power plant Acconci built on top of the building's tower. The book at hand is the first to document this project and also the first to consider the paradigm of architectural designs created by Acconci Studio. Also included are texts by Acconci about the body, architecture and public space, and an instructive essay by Heinz Schtz which reviews Acconci's works from the last decades and opens up the horizon against which Courtyard in the Wind is set.

Vito Acconci: Writings, Works, Projects

Essays by Vito Acconci and Gloria Moure.
Published by Poligrafa

The work of Vito Acconci is among the most influential of the last 30 years. His adventures in performance, audio and video, sculpture, writing and architecture, from the late 1960s through the present have provided countless milestone works for younger artists. The overriding concerns throughout his work have been self-analysis and interpersonal relationships, themes he has explored in many different ways. This monograph will be the most complete publication available on this vital American artist, and will include both extensive visual documentation from throughout his career and a wide selection of his writings.

Vito Acconci/Steven Holl: Storefront Gallery

Edited by Edelbert Kob. Essay by Arno Ritter.
Published by Hatje Cantz Publishers

In 1993, the artist Vito Acconci and the architect Steven Holl were invited to redesign the facade of the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. Addressing the site's urban environment and its function as an art space--the gallery is located on the ground floor of a low building on the outskirts of Soho--Acconci and Holl created a versatile facade which may be opened up in different ways depending on the season, or function as an optical screen separating the inner space from the street. These diverse functions--responding to considerations of both inner and outer space, creating links and transparencies as well as establishing borders--provide for a constant flux of local and spatial relationships for both the interested viewer and the casual passerby. This striking and significant new book, part of Hatje/Cantz's Werkdokumente series, documents Acconci and Holl's collaborative project with photographs by Paul Ott.