“Vito Acconci: Where We Are Now (Who Are We Anyway?), 1976”

In late 1960s New York, no artist was cooler than Vito Acconci, whose seductive, gravelly voice and hypnotic charisma made him a rock star of video and performance art. A shaman-like presence on the downtown scene, he was hugely influential for an entire generation of younger artists and musicians, many of whom were drawn to New York by his example. Starting as a poet, he gravitated towards art, first as conceptualist who authored some of genre’s most seminal pieces, and later as a creator of complicated sculptural installations that were often interactive. Eventually he left art for architecture. This show covers his early performances, including his famous Following Piece, in which he trailed random passers-by on the street until they entered a building. An echt New York artist, he remains one of contemproary art's most important figures.