Pryings

Vito Acconci’s Pryings was hard for me to watch, not so much because it was psychologically aggressive like Theme Song and Undertone, but because it was physically and emotionally aggressive the way Acconci attempted so unsuccessfully to pry Kathy Dillon’s eyes open. The live sound in the video revealed that Acconci was more physically exhausted trying to pull Dillon’s eyelids apart than Dillon stubbornly keeping her eyes closed since the viewer could hear Acconci’s heavy breathing throughout the whole piece while Dillon kept relatively quiet. Dillon also seemed to keep a stoic manner throughout, with little facial expression.

I felt frustrated watching Pryings because I could not figure out what motive Acconci had for doing this to Dillon. Even though I knew it was just a performance, I could not help but be scared that Acconci could at any moment accidentally hurt Dillon because he was constantly pulling at her eyes, such a vulnerable part of the human anatomy. However, it then occurred to me that because it is unknown to the viewer why Acconci is taking such action, really we could not be certain whether Acconci or Dillon is the protagonist here. Looked at from another point of view, I would not go so far as to say that Acconci is victim in the piece, but at least he could be looked upon with some pity since he is the one who is constantly out of breath and ultimately unsuccessful.

I thought maybe this video was representative of the media’s power over the public’s eyes. The way the video was shot, Dillon took up most of the space while for a large part of it only Acconci’s hands and arms were shown. Acconci remained as this off-screen faceless, anonymous authority much like the mass media. Dillon, who ultimately “triumphs”, thus, was representative of the reluctant viewer, one who is unwilling to be manipulated by the media. So, perhaps Acconci was trying to send the viewer a message?