{"data":{"id":"4421","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":4421,"topgoose_id":360,"tms_id":4421,"display_name":"Bill Viola","sort_name":"Viola Bill","display_date":"1951–2024","begin_date":"1951","end_date":"2024","biography":"\u003cp\u003eA pioneer of video art, Bill Viola is\nknown for his technical and artistic mastery\nof the medium and for a body of work\nthat traverses the visual language of painting,\nelectronic art, and cinema. While studying\npainting and music at Syracuse University\nin the late 1960s and early 1970s, Viola\ndiscovered video and experimented in his\nearly work with its unique properties.\nIn time he would move from single-channel\nvideotapes to explorations of large-scale\nprojected imagery and immersive\nsoundscapes in groundbreaking gallery-\nbased installations that helped to redefine\nvideo as an art form.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout his career, Viola has\nembraced aspects of spirituality, from Zen\nBuddhism to Sufi mysticism. By manipulating\nthe experience of time in his videos, he\noften evokes a state of transcendence or\naltered consciousness. Each of the five\nprojected images in the operatic \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/18035\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFive Angels\nfor the Millennium\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e—titled “Departing Angel,”\n“Birth Angel,” “Fire Angel,” “Ascending\nAngel,” and “Creation Angel”—depicts an\naquatic scene with a figure emerging from\nor descending into the water. As Viola\nhas explained: “The human figure arrives\nintermittently as a powerful explosion of\nlight and sound that interrupts an otherwise\npeaceful, nocturnal underwater landscape.\nBecause the sequences run in slow\nmotion, and are further altered by running\nbackwards and forwards or right-side-up\nand upside-down, the image is read in\nunexpected ways, and the disorientation\nbecomes an essential aspect of the work’s\ntheme.” The sensorial effect is overwhelming\nas Viola invites the viewer to consider\nhow art might produce a ritualistic, sacred,\nor symbolic experience.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500092205","wikidata_id":"Q437616","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:38:21.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-23T01:32:49.750-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/4421/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/4421/exhibitions"}}}}