11/19/14 Homework Acconci Reading/Questions

What are the different voices that Acconci uses when speaking in the work and to what means? What characters does he embody/perform?

Acconci uses many different voices and tones to evoke different emotions from the viewers. In the beginning, he uses a deep, monotonous voice, giving off the feeling of an intro narration. Afterwards, he breaks into a whispering voice, where he repeats different words of emotions in a rhythmic pattern. Later on, he hums, which reminds me of patriotism or the humming of a tune while laboring. In another part, he makes car noises and describes numerous vehicle movements. Towards the ending, Acconci says a bunch of statements beginning with “remember to”, which gives off the feeling of a leader or dictator reminding his subjects to love their country for all it does for them.

Locate instances of nationalism as well as lone individuality in the work. What do references to nationalism “do” or emphasize with respect to our understanding of the story.

One reference to nationalism is when Acconci is talking about physical attributes of America, like the Statue of Liberty, then moves on to other stuff about the land in a negative tone. Also, another instance is when he is talking about the specific places where someone’s son and daughter died due to a battle. The voice is talking quickly and is ushering on the parents in a hurried manner. One instance of lone individuality in the work is when he is talking about solving a murder or mystery. He speaks about not being able to understand the clues and why he never realized what had happened at the time in hindsight. All these references tell a story about the many factors of nationalism and how it effects everyone. There are some against it, some who hate the nation, some who want the revolution and independence and still others who aren’t affected by any of it.

How do the formal strategies (the look and how different elements are put together) of video, still  photos, painting, film, and performance contribute to the content of the work? Provide specific examples.

Acconci uses a variety of different materials, including pages of a book, his voice, his face, numerous single photographs, and the panning of his camera. These all contribute to his work. For example, when he is filming the part about cars, he is using the camera to spin quickly between each car photo while making noises with his voice. The cars somehow change to different models even though he is filming back and forth in a straight line of pictures. Another example is when he is repeating “we are the people” and then slamming down pictures of different people on a surface and sliding them off camera. This represents how the chanting, “we are the people” corresponds with each person he is showing, stating that all those people are part of the nation. They make up the nation of America, even though they are from different ethnicities, ages, and genders.

How do you ultimately understand the narrative or story of this work? Please describe.

I believe this narrative is about American nationalism, starting from that revolution from Britain, to the growth of the city and landscape, to nationalism and war. At the start of his piece, Acconci is talking about revolution while being blindfolded. This could be interpreted as soldiers being blindly lead by the majority or leaders to do stuff they don’t fully understand or want. Then he goes on to talked about the lands and attributes of America, like the Statue of Liberty, until his statements become darker and unflattering toward the USA. He shows cars “zooming” by and tall skyscrapers to represent the growth of the industries and cities. During one part, he disgraces JFK death with inappropriate imagery because it represents the people without nationalism, who hate America because of its inequality. At the end, Acconci is sarcastically chanting the motto of what America was built on, equality, while forcefully showing pictures of numerous people from different ethnicities, ages, and genders; people who weren’t interpreted in the beginning of America as equal and free.