Bill violaBy: Mackenzye Smith

Bill viola

Background• Born and raised in New York• Nearly drowned and described it as “the most

beautiful world I’ve ever seen in my life”• Attended Syracuse University• Known for his creation of videotapes,

architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and television broadcasts

• Main focus on universal human experience

The crossing

The Crossing• Date: 1996• Content: one side- depicts a man being engulfed by flames

and then disappears; other side- shows a man hidden behind water and then disappears; shows Viola’s fascination with water (stems from his near drowning incident)

• Patron: co-commissioned by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia

• Media: video/sound installation; shown on a large screen which displays a motion picture on both sides simultaneously

• http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/11

The crossing• Style: clothes- modern day clothing; abstract and

expressive interpretation; symbol- water acts as “reflection of the outer world and acts as barrier to the other world”

• Formal Elements: light- illumination of the body; focus drawn away from the face; balance- symmetrical body; balance presented through opposite concepts (fire vs. water); color- solid back background used to focus attention to the figure; texture- attention to detail of the fire and water

• Meaning: Viola claims the idea stems from his unconscious; surfaces the question of whether the man dies or if he travels from catching on fire to being extinguished by the water

He weeps for you

He weeps for you• Date: 1976• Content: Eastern religion influence; continues his

fascination with water; idea stemmed from cleaning his glasses and noticing that he could see through the raindrops that had collected

• Media: video installation; shown at Documenta 6 in Kassel

• Style: abstract and expressive; video camera magnifies the brass valve; shows both close-up and distant perspectives; drop falls to the drum creating a loud resonant sound

He weeps for you• Formal Elements: dramatic emphasis; shown

from different angles; color- black room with a color screen; attention drawn to the brass valve

• Meaning: representation of human transience and mortality; life is a repetitive cycle

• http://www.sfmoma.org/media/features/viola/BV08.html

Angel’s Gate

Angel’s Gate• Date: 1989• Content: does not refrain from displeasing images

(woman giving birth, animal carcass, etc); fixates upon existence, experience, memory, and time

• Patron: Commission by Television Español for the El Arte Del Video series

• Media: video installation• Style: image sequences (a candle being

extinguished, fruit falling from a tree, family getting their picture taken, etc); long, slow fades to black

Angel’s Gate• Formal Elements: light- draws the viewer from

the dark tunnel towards the illuminated gate (tunnel scene); filmed from various angles

• Meaning: shows the creation and decay of all things; focus on mortality

• http://vk.com/video5648859_163593401