The skepticism which fails to contribute to the ruin of our health is merely an intellectual exercise.
E.M. Cioran
In 1995, Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley got together to create a video called "Fresh Acconci." In it, they used nude models to re-enact a series of pieces that Vito Acconci had done in the 1970s. The sexual aspect in the Acconci work was retained, but given a force which was decidedly different from the original. Exaggerated glamour and softcore porn production values garnish Acconci's desperate pleas and discomforts, flattening them out, making them pathetic but funnier. They are spread among an ethnically and gender diverse group of performers to give them a sense of universality. The bleak light of New York is replaced by California sunshine. All in all, the freshening up of Acconci softens out all of the hard edges but highlights the romantic desperation, all the while making it seem cute and restoring the sense that its feeling could be readily purchased for private needs, rather than festooned on an undesiring public.
