Bill Viola, video artist- R.I.P

So sad to open today’s paper and see Bill Viola’s obituary  for he is the greatest video artist of our time.

When I was an exchange student to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago from Glasgow School of Art there was a major retrospective  of his work there. One day Bill Viola gave a public lecture, and students were allowed out of class early to get a place in the queue. It was held in the Michigan Ballroom capable of holding 600 and we knew it would be full.

Everyone was excited. This was a chance to see the great master of video art which was the hottest subject on campus along with technology.
Well,  he strode on stage and announced that he would not be talking about his work: “if you want to see my work go across the road and you will see it in the Art Institute. I am going to talk about the inspiration for my work.”
 
He proceeded to talk about Zen- Buddhism and Eastern philosophers.  My fellow students were gobsmacked. This was not what they wanted to hear. They wanted to know about the technology he was using, how he became a famous video artist.  Slowly they drifted out.

I remained fascinated. He was a man who combined technology with spiritualism.  
Today’s photo is a still from a video I made shortly afterwards called “The Matriarch “ using the hands of three generations of women, grandmother, mother and child. 

It is my little tribute to the one of the greatest artists of our time.

PS. Obituary  
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jul/15/bill-viola-appreciation