BILL VIOLA“Art is, for me, the

process of trying to

wake up the soul.

Because we live in an

industrialized, fast-

paced world that

prefers that the soul

remain asleep.”

Bill Viola is 63 years old and has

been fascinated in art since he can

remember. He is a very spiritual

person and feels the world in his

mind is much more real than the

world we’re living in.

He is a new generation artist who

depends on new media technology

to express himself such as by using

music, sound and electronics. His

works focus on the ideas of

everyone's human experiences

such as birth, death and emotions.

“Tape I” (1972)

“For 40 years he has created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and works for television broadcast” (http://www.billviola.com/biograph.htm)

He has always been very interested in water, he feels the circuits in the camera and the electricity is much like the currents that flow through water. That’s why he enjoys mixing the two.

When video artist Bill Viola was 6 years old he fell into a lake, all the way to the bottom, to a place which seemed like paradise. "There's more than just the surface of life." Viola explains. "The real things are under the surface".

“Nantes Triptych”

(1992)

“water is everything to me, it’s what I do”

INFLUENCES

Joseph BeuysGERMAN FLUXUS

Mark RothkoABSTRACT EXPRESIONIST

THE DREAMERS

“The installation is a continuation of Viola’s exploration into water and life’s connection to it. The piece consists of seven individual screens, which display people, apparently sleeping, underwater. The people are perfectly still apart from occasional slow movements and bubbles, caused by their breath floating to the surface. In the darkened space, the sounds of the water and the images of the people envelope the viewer, making them feel a part of the work, as if they were themselves submerged under the water”.

The dreamers

Ablutions

Purification

Purification

Video Link