Vito Acconci In honor of MoMA PS1’s show “Vito Acconci: Where Are We Now (Who Are We Anyway?), 1976,”
Installation view of “Vito Acconci: Where Are We Now (Who Are We Anyway?), 1976,” 2016, MoMA PS1. PABLO ENRIQUEZ/COURTESY ACCONCI STUDIO AND MOMA PS1 In honor of MoMA PS1’s show “Vito Acconci: Where Are We Now (Who Are We Anyway?), 1976,” which looks at the first few years of the performance and video artist’s career, we turn back to 1972, when Acconci had one of his most famous shows, at Sonnabend Gallery in New York. At that exhibition, Acconci debuted Seed Bed , a performance in which he lay under a sloped floor he built in the gallery and masturbated to the thought of visitors above him. Below is April Kingsley’s review of the Sonnabend show. Last month, Phyllis Tuchman interviewed Acconci for these pages. “Reviews and Previews” By April Kingsley March 1972 Vito Acconci’s disturbing exhibition was comprised of distinct performance situations and a film showing past performances. In Room A ( Seed Bed ) Acconci lay hidden beneath a room-sized, slanting plywood false-flo