Bill Viola

Bill Viola is an American artist who specializes in using light and technology to create his installations. His work concentrates on birth, death and aspects of consciousness, In a way, they are related to Vanitas as they show the suddenness of death and rebirth. In 'the crossing' it shows a man walking towards you and then taken away by light and water. It almost as if its Violas depiction of how death should be like. This is also shown in 'Ascension Tristan' in which the body is slowly levitated up while water is pouring over it. Viola uses sound and image technology to create his installations.

 

He uses actors in his work pieces and this contributes to the mass of money that is spent to create these installations. They movie in elaborate ways, like they are circus acts. Also a lot of flesh is shown which links to renaissance art. It also links to religious art at that time where Jesus would be painted/sculpted with almost no clothes on. Water is a main feature in his work but this could be because of how light reflects in it.

 

Shows a person being lifted up while water pours down and conceals them. They are slowly being lifted up and disappear. The water slowly starts to disappear and the person disappears with it. As the person is being lifted it looks like they are being lifted from the chest while their legs and arms face downwards.

This video shows the commission from St Pauls cathedral, the most famous cathedral outside of Rome, in which Viola created an installation of earth, air, fire and water. The earth installation shows a man emerging from the earth, as if he is being born. The wind section shows a woman that is hung by ropes being hit by a gust of wind. The third show a man enveloped in flames and the fourth show a man hanging upside-down and water being poured all over him.

 

 

Ascension is, in terms of religion, the bodily ascending of Christ from earth to heaven. The video shows a man being emerged in water and then floating to the top, almost like he's floating to heaven. This could also be seen as baptism which mostly occurs at the beginning of life in Christianity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Installation art is mostly a modern type of art that is practiced by postmodernist artists.

Emerging during the 1970s, installation is associated with conceptual art which provokes certain emotions to the audience. Some believe that it's not art at all whereas other believe that it is the only type of art that is relevant to this day and age.

Examples of modern conceptualists are the YBA's: Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin who create quite controversial and shocking pieces.