Vito Acconci (1940–2017, American) was an influential video, performance, and installation artist whose diverse practice also includes sculpture, architecture, and landscape design. His early work pushed the boundaries of performance and video art and explored the artist’s relationship to audiences through staged scenarios of exhibitionism, discomfort, transgression, and provocation. The lithograph titled Flag Face was printed in 1984 at UAlbany as part of the Albany Impressions Series. Acconci’s image of a superimposed human face on a collective symbol of a flag confronts the viewer by presenting multiple vantage points—we are the viewer, yet the mask is watching us.
–Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections

–American Playlist: Selections From The University At Albany Art Collections

VITO ACCONCI (b. 1940, New York, NY; d. 2017, New York, NY) An influential video, performance, and installation artist whose diverse practice also included sculpture, architecture, and landscape design, Acconci frequently explored the relation of the body to public and private space. The many museums that have held solo exhibitions of his work include: Santa Monica Art Museum, Santa Monica, CA (2006); Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (both 2005); Musee d’Art Contemporain, Nantes, France, MACBA, Barcelona, Spain, and Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu, Japan (all 2004); Royal College of Art, London, UK (2001); Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy (1992); Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (1988); La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA (1987); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (1980). Acconci held a BA in literature from Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA and an MFA in writing from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. The work on view was produced here at UAlbany in 1984 as part of the visiting artist lecture and printmaking series Albany Impressions. Additionally, Acconci’s work was posthumously exhibited at the UAM in Vito Acconci: Under-History (2020).
–Body Maps: Works from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections in Conversation with Past Exhibiting Artists