Covering Acconci

The good folks at @Platea are at it again.  As a cover of an earlier (1969) performance/conceptual art piece by Vito Acconci, @Platea proposes "Following Piece 2.0."  Where Acconci would follow random strangers through the public spaces of Manhattan, @ Platea is interested in how that same experiment might play out in the public spaces of the Internet, particularly but not limited to Twitter.

It was an interesting concept for Acconci, and it is definitely an interesting experiment for the Internet Age.  @Platea provides a closing caution about performers not violating privacy laws and not partaking in stalking or cyberstalking.  Even so, it is the kind of work that might remind us of how public the "public screen" (DeLuca and Peeples, 2002) actually is in a time when some folks expect their actions on the internet and social netorking sites to remain somehow private.

Pop on over to the @Platea site to sign up to follow and report on folks.  There are suggestions there for what this on-line performance might look like, but those suggestions certainly do not exhaust the possibilities.  As with Acconci, the art here lies more in the reportage than in the following.  And if you have problems with this sort of art, feel free to start a conversation here or there about your misgivings.