Bill Viola Visual Analysis
Bill Viola (1951–), a contemporary video artist whose upbringing capitalizes on his interpretation of the world: seen and unseen. In a near death encounter, Viola’s comprehensive reaction to the memories of his near-drowning seems to be a driving force in many of his artworks. Of many of the video pieces, most, if not all, have spiritual significance and pull away from reality; pushing the theme of transcendence and imagination. As suggested by Bernier, “Viola considers the re-emergence of a theological dimension to contemporary art, a re-enchantment of art”. Though instituted by feelings and imagination, Viola interprets the senses of the natural world by means of re-converging theology and physicality through sound and image, that, seem
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What’s at stake? For Viola, the proactive choice of embodying the “soul” in image is a spiritual and physical battle. In this pursuit, Viola is focusing on the “visible phenomena and psychological processes, feelings, associations and memories, beyond the laws of experience, bound by time and space” that act like a bridge between heaven, earth, hell, and beyond. This internal sense, is a factor not many are thinking about, certainly not all artists either. “Videos have the means to make visible what is not...The video camera becomes the eye which enables the filming of reality as well as the apprehension of a world concealed behind the appearance of things.” What is really at stake in Viola’s work is this, the possibility of a world beyond that of what we see, the untying of knots that now reveal intricate fabrics that have been hidden for ages. But, how is this “untying” different from philosophers, theologians, etc.? In this case, Viola is using physical manifestations of life and documentations of such to trigger the right questions. Uniquely, Viola’s work places heavy significance on the religious aspects of life in many–if not most– of his video installations. In other words, the nerves Viola is trying to hit consist of not just political matters, but religious and the sense of “being” in consciousness and how the interaction between the two are vital in relation to how humanity lives among the
What’s at stake? For Viola, the proactive choice of embodying the “soul” in image is a spiritual and physical battle. In this pursuit, Viola is focusing on the “visible phenomena and psychological processes, feelings, associations and memories, beyond the laws of experience, bound by time and space” that act like a bridge between heaven, earth, hell, and beyond. This internal sense, is a factor not many are thinking about, certainly not all artists either. “Videos have the means to make visible what is not...The video camera becomes the eye which enables the filming of reality as well as the apprehension of a world concealed behind the appearance of things.” What is really at stake in Viola’s work is this, the possibility of a world beyond that of what we see, the untying of knots that now reveal intricate fabrics that have been hidden for ages. But, how is this “untying” different from philosophers, theologians, etc.? In this case, Viola is using physical manifestations of life and documentations of such to trigger the right questions. Uniquely, Viola’s work places heavy significance on the religious aspects of life in many–if not most– of his video installations. In other words, the nerves Viola is trying to hit consist of not just political matters, but religious and the sense of “being” in consciousness and how the interaction between the two are vital in relation to how humanity lives among the