Building an Island

by Vito Acconci

It seems as if a UFO has landed in the middle of Graz: an organic form, evoking a half shell or a snail's shell, is floating on the Mur river as an artificial island, connected by piers to both river banks. The steel construction was designed by the architect-artist Vito Acconci, based on a concept by Robert Punkenhofer, a native of Graz, and realized within the scope of "Graz 2003: Cultural Capital of Europe." Acconci Island, consisting of various interlocking surfaces with flowing transitions, houses an amphitheatre, a cafa, and a playground. Large parts of its outer stainless-steel skin reflect the city; acrylic fiber, glass, steel grids, and peepholes provide a view onto the water and the banks, while the transparent materials make the building look weightless. The result is a breathtaking, technically sophisticated avant-garde piece of architecture that refuses categorization. This publication documents the different stages of design, and places sketches and computer simulations next to remarkable photographs of models as well as shots of the finished island. An interview with Vito Acconci and a presentation of the diverse work of the Acconci Studio round off the book.

Genres: Art

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

review of
Building an Island
- tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - September 26, 2011

Strangely, this bk is listed elsewhere on GoodReads as being called "Vito Acconci: An Island" & as being by: "Aric Chan". I say strangely b/c in the image accompanying the bk blurb there's a picture of the cover w/ the title "Building an Island" & I don't find the name "Aric Chan" anywhere in the bk. Hence my re-entering this bk on GoodReads under the correct title, correct # of pages, & apparent correct authorship - although the latter's somewhat difficult to pin down.

I probably 1st encountered references to Acconci's work in the excellent Ursula Meyers edited "CONCEPTUAL ART" bk (1972). This was one of the 1st bks I ever read that featured artists who were thinking along the same lines I was. It was exciting! Not long thereafter I was lucky enuf to find a copy of the Avalanche magazine dedicated to Acconci (alas, w/o a cover). In the late 1970s or early 1980s I was fortunate enuf to attend an in-person appearance by Acconci at UMBC where he screened his 'long' video "The Red Tapes" - wch I loved. This was the only time I got to meet him. He was very friendly & even bought a copy of my 1st bk. That was more than enuf to endear him to me.

I'm always particularly interested in people who don't produce work in the same old same old rut over & over again. Acconci exemplifies this. He went from writer to body artist to video maker to interactive public sculptor to architect. Unfortunately, I've run across mention of his post-body-art work infrequently. Since I don't pay much attn to art magazines, wch is probably where much coverage of his work wd appear, I've only rarely seen pictures of his fantastic sculptures & installations. Nonetheless, I've always found them interesting.

SO, I was delighted when I found this bk in a used bkstore in Provincetown, MA. Acconci designing an artificial island?! Marvelous! & this catalog does a passable job of documenting that whole logistical complexity of bringing such a project to fruition. Personally, I prefer more detail & less art book design but I'm not necessarily the market demographic that the bk's aimed at.

Acconci's career follows the somewhat typical trajectory of the typical 'successful' artist insofar as his early work doesn't rely much on people other than himself & those in his immediate environment - then, as his name turns into HIS NAME he starts to rely on more & more people & more & more funding to realize larger & larger projects. That's all well & good to me - I don't begrudge someone like Acconci greater & greater ability to accomplish the ambitious. After all, he has imagination & courage - 2 qualities I imagine. Who better to design an artificial island?

The result, though, is that it eventually becomes dubious how much credit Acconci deserves. After all, the island was made at the instigation of Robert Punkenhofer of Art & Idea, designed by Vito Acconci / Acconci Studio, rendered more buildable by the engineers from Kratzer and Zenkner & Handel, further worked over by the architects of Purpur, &, then, finally built by Stahl-, Fassaden- und Lüftungsbau - wch is to say built by alotof workers who don't, ultimately, get any credit. & maybe this is where "Aric Chan" comes in: maybe the names a joke, maybe it's a collective identity, maybe someone took the initiative to give themselves credit where credit was otherwise not given. Dunno. Nonetheless, since I don't find the name anywhere, I give what seems to be more correct attribution here.

W/ that sd, in the end, a large-scale artwork like this ends up as similar to any big-budget project - such as a Hollywood film. While there may be a 'director' credited who can be used as a central reference person, ultimately, even Acconci is more of a figurehead here than an auteur. Still, learning about a recent Acconci project was a delight for me!!