Vito Acconci was a performance artist whose style was later described as “existential unease”.

One of his more uncomfortable artistic endeavors was his controversial Following Piece, which consisted of him stalking someone for hours at a time while jotting down notes and taking photographs of the unsuspecting individual’s commute.

For a few short weeks in 1969, Acconci would select a random person in New York City and follow them until they entered a private space like a public bathroom, a car, a home or an apartment.

During one of Acconci’s stalks, he followed someone into a movie theater where he sat behind them for the entirety of the film.

Acconci would later say that his Following Piece wasn’t so much art but his way of getting himself away from his desk and out into the city, where inspiration could be gathered…

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It was like I was praying for people to take me somewhere I didn’t know how to go myself.

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While I wouldn’t advice anyone to stalk someone for creative purposes, I think there’s an interesting metaphor in Acconci’s Following Piece.

When we feel lost for inspiration or uncertain of where it is we should go next with our work, there’s a chance we aren’t doing enough living.

Ask someone to take you somewhere you’ve never been before. Or, crack open a biography of a writer, artist or musician you admire and spend a few days walking in their shoes.

In other words, get outside yourself.

By Cole Schafer.

P.S. If this newsletter left you feeling inspired, do me a huge favor and tell one person to subscribe.