Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Vito Acconci at MoMA PS1


(link)

Twisting conceptual art's fascination with linguistic bureaucratics, Acconci made grotesque conceptual Art's fetish for rules as a nightmarish pedagogical authority, made to assert his body frighteningly close. No excuse unturned for Acconci to get close and expose his body, voice or marmot-like nutsack. And his use of conceptual authority to instruct bodies in some way exposed conceptual art's ability to neutralize certain of its more abusive aspects. Wasn't conceptual art's denial of pleasure subsumed into instruction and authority itself a fetish.