I was saddened to hear that media artist Bill Viola died earlier this week.
One of the first pieces I saw of Viola’s has stuck with me. The Sleepers (1992) shows video of people sleeping. Simple enough, but the CRT monitors are on their backs in the bottoms of 55-gallon drums, submerged in water. The peaceful glow of the light from the barrels and the images of people sleeping, dreaming and breathing is contrasted by the ever present danger of electrocution and drowning. A baptism. A burial. A revelation of how separate our sleeping and waking lives really are. And a suggestion that waking up might not go as planned.
I appreciate the slow, contemplative pace of Viola’s work. His attention to sound is also notable. I wonder if–in a different universe–he might have become a sound artist with an eye for the visual rather than a media artist with an ear for sound.
