VITO ACCONCI, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (The Seventh Commandment) 1987

Vito Acconci

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery, 1987

Three Color Lithograph with Collage on Rives BFK Paper

Hand signed and numbered from the edition of 84

Printed by James Miller and Maurice Sanchez at Derriere L'Etoile Studio. This iconic 3 color lithograph with collage on Rives 

This rare Vito Acconci mixed media work on paper was created as part of the 1987 portfolio "The Ten Commandments", in which ten top Jewish American artists were each invited to choose an Old Testament commandment to interpret in contemporary lithographic form. The "Chosen" artists were, in order of Commandment: Kenny Scharf, Joseph Nechvatal, Gretchen Bender, April Gornik, Robert Kushner, Nancy Spero, Vito Acconci, Jane Dickson, Judy Rifka and Richard Bosman. Lisa Liebmann, who wrote the introduction to the collection, observed:  "...The image has, for most of us, replaced the word..."  With respect to the present work she writes, "THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT against adultery is "in fashion" once again today, though ten years ago conjugal fidelity seemed more like pleasant or happenstance for a happy few, or merely the unsophisticated condition of those lacking opportunity and imagination. Vito Acconci's paean to lust, a state of lapse which he's always believed in, now seems at once poignant - an old fashioned enthusiasm inextricably bound to guilt which is also out of fashion - and unexpectedly radical - propaganda for Eros, currently threatened with ex-communication. .."

Excellent original condition. Unframed with deckled edges.

This work is so iconic, that when Acconci died in 2017, the Jewish Museum tweeted out the image of The Seventh Commandment. (Link below or HERE): 

http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/culture/designer-and-artist-vito-acconci-dead-at-77_o