Vito Acconci-Language Works: Video, Audio, Poetry

Vito Acconci - Language Works: Video, Audio, Poetry The work of Vito Acconci (b. 1940) treats in a critical, now and then even playful, way aspects of identity politics – the 'self' as a social construct; it is characterised by self-driven research into the relationship between artist and viewer, into how individual and social space are related to one another. The all-encompassing exhibition offers an insight into the practice that this influential artist carried-out in the 1970s, this from the viewpoint of the place that takes language as a catalysing impulse. That is thereby the centre of gravity that shapes Acconci's conceptual, performance-based videos and audio works, wherein he executes an intense dialogue between his body and psyche, the 'I' and the 'you', the public and private space, in the form of stream-of-consciousness monologues. This historic, groundbreaking body of work, distinguished by an unusually psychodramatic intensity, is supplemented in this exhibition by graphic transcriptions of audio works and early poetry works. In these works the physical materialisation of language is central, achieved through means of syntactical experiments and typographical permutations. From the 1980s onwards Acconci's practice shifted in the direction of sculptural interventions and urban projects, progressing his interest in the human body and its relationship to the public space. Connected therewith is a surprising listening space that the artist was contracted to design for the exhibition. Lecture: Vito Acconci – From Word to Action to Architecture 18 February 2009, 8.30pm Starting out from the language-based works exhibited at Argos, Vito Acconci is giving a talk on his work, from poetry through video and performance art to architecture and design. It seems that the step from one medium to the next is not such a big one – the focus is always on language and body in relation to space. Kaaistudios – Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Vaakstraat 81 Rue Notre-Dame du Sommeil, 1000 Brussels, Belgium