Response 4, Vito Acconci

In Theme Song, Acconci places himself directly opposite his viewer and through this creates an unsettling relationship with his audience. Acconci’s physical presence in the video is perhaps one of the most notable elements of the video. Here we see actualized what Acconci himself stated in his essay “Television, Furniture, and Sculpture: The room with the American View,” the video screen puts the performer in the scale of his audience which makes video a more personal experience. Thus Acconci’s presence on screen is very real; when he comes in close to the camera he seems closer to us though the screen has not of course moved. When he brings his body around he seems to occupy more of the physical space around us, closing in on us, almost threatening us. The unease we feel while watching it is a response to this, we feel invaded and unable to escape from the “relationship” which Acconci has cast us in. Towards the beginning of the piece Acconci tells us that he is being honest with us, in a way, he opens up to us, and creates a foundation for the relationship. However, this contrasts with his own realization at the end, we are not there, not present in the same space as him, his words, “I know I'm only kidding myself...You're not here,” seems to make us violators of the relationship Acconci has been cultivating over the thirty-three minutes of the film. We are not there, only the camera is present, and this epiphany seems to break the bond of the artist and the viewer.

Undertone again appropriates the viewer’s relationship to the artist, Acconci moves from his own fantasy performance to addressing the audience. His performance is interesting in that he seems to be attempting to convince himself of what he is saying. In this he takes on the viewer’s apprehension and disbelief and also overcomes these by convincing himself. This in turn is deconstructed by Acconci convincing himself otherwise as the video progresses, creating a cycle of belief and disbelief.