American, 1940–2017
Having studied literature in the early 1960s, Vito Acconci turned his attention to other artistic forms of expression in 1969—performance, video art, and audiovisual installations. In his early photographic works, Acconci deployed the medium to capture the individual moments that constitute a performance. His central themes addressed his body and its relationship to time and space. In the triptych Rearview #1, #2, #3, Acconci gradually rotates his body toward the viewer, which first only sees his back. By turning his torso and directly addressing the spectator with his gaze and gestures, Acconci integrates the viewer into his artwork, thereby merging the privacy of the studio and the public sphere of the exhibition space.
