Massimiliano Scuderi Remembers Vito Acconci: From Pescara to Brooklyn

Massimiliano Scuderi, an Italian critic, curator, and architect, recalls his encounters with Vito Acconci. He first met Acconci when he invited him to Pescara, Abruzzo, to give a lecture at the faculty of architecture as part of the international series "Space, People and Place." During that visit, Scuderi showed Acconci a fountain by Ettore Spalletti and a work he had created for Michael Lin at Fuori Uso. Acconci later invited Scuderi to collaborate at his Brooklyn studio on the Klein-Bottle project, a playground planned for HangarBicocca in Milan, curated by Adelina Von Furstenberg. They also held a public dialogue in Faenza for the Festival dell'Arte Contemporanea, which Scuderi likened to a boxing match. Acconci refused to be called an artist in his later years, stating he worked in architecture. He evolved from writing, where words acted in the empty space of the page, to architecture, wanting people to inhabit his works rather than be mere audience. He described his creations as tools, not objects. Scuderi highlights Acconci's relentless drive, always centered on his goals, and recalls anecdotes from friends like Mario Diacono, Lea Vergine, and Mimmo Jodice. Acconci's work ranged from early performances like Following Piece and Seedbed (1972) at Sonnabend Gallery in New York to later architecture and design projects.