Open Book (1974)

Acconcis open mouth is framed by the camera in an extreme closeup bringing the viewer uncomfortably close A desperate sense of strained urgency comes across as Acconci gasps Ill accept you I wont shut down I wont shut you out Im open to you Im open to everything This is not a trap we can go inside yes come inside Acconci continues to plead in this way for the length of the tape his mouth held unnaturally wide open The pathological psychology of such enforced openness betrays a desperate struggle to accept and be accepted by others The sustained image of Acconcis open mouth also evidences a sinister vaguely threatening streak that is more or less evident in much of Acconcis work