Exploring the Transcendent Realm of Bill Viola's Video Art

In the mid-1970s, I became captivated by the emerging field of video art, a domain that would eventually become the principal focus of Bill Viola's groundbreaking work. As a writer and producer, I played a pivotal role in bringing video art to the forefront, persuading the BBC to provide facilities and airtime for video artists. This included collaborating with Anna Ridley to produce an ARENA program that featured David Hall's seminal piece, "This is a Television Set," a work that deconstructed the very nature of televisual reality.

Unlocking the Spiritual Dimensions of Video Art

Discovering the Transformative Power of Bill Viola's Visionary Creations

It was later that I encountered the work of Bill Viola, whose early videos and installations delved deeply into the conceptual concerns of the time, exploring the possibilities and inherent flaws of the still-nascent video technology. A major retrospective of Viola's work at the Whitechapel Gallery over 30 years ago opened my eyes to the remarkable ability of video art to bridge the gap between radical thinking about art, reality, and representation, and the realms of the spiritual, the social, and the personal.One of the captivating pieces I encountered was a work that featured TV monitors submerged in barrels of water, with the content creating mesmerizing visual effects through the interplay of reflections between the monitors placed above and below. The imagery, which included an elderly woman and a newborn child, enfolded each other in a thought-provoking and emotionally moving manner.

The Transcendent Masterpiece: "The Nantes Triptych"

However, it was Viola's seminal work, "The Nantes Triptych," that truly captivated me. Comprising three large portrait-ratio screens, the piece is a meditation on the indivisible relationship between life and death. On the left, a woman gives birth in real time, while on the right, an elderly woman lies on her deathbed, on the threshold of passing. In the middle, a video of a human figure floating in water, a recurring motif in Viola's work, harks back to his own near-drowning experience as a child.The effect of this triptych is mesmerizing, as the sound from all three videos intertwines, drawing the viewer into a profound contemplation of the cycle of existence. Unlike some of Viola's later, more literal works, "The Nantes Triptych" does not preach or dictate a specific interpretation. Instead, it invites the viewer to question, to experience the images, and to allow meaning to arise within their own heart and mind.

Exploring the Poetic Resonance of "The Passing"

The Nantes Triptych was rooted in a longer video of Viola's, "The Passing," from 1991, which featured recurring images and poetic associations that wove together the tapestry of his artistic vision. One such image was that of cacti in the desert, briefly illuminated by the passing headlights of a car, as if brought to life for fleeting moments, mirroring the way consciousness can incarnate and then fade.For me, the experience of encountering Viola's work was deeply comforting, not as an escape from the pain of grief, but as a revelation that brought meaning to the chaos that accompanies our encounters with mortality. The Triptych and other pieces in the exhibition resonated profoundly with me, as I was still grappling with the loss of my father, who had taken his own life.

Collaborating with the Visionary Artist

When I decided to approach Bill Viola about making a documentary film, his work had already gained significant recognition and acclaim. The Whitechapel exhibition and his acclaimed piece "Five Angels for the Millennium" had made a significant impact, and several filmmakers were vying for the opportunity to capture his creative process.I took the plunge and traveled to Los Angeles, where I asked if I could film Viola during the shoot for his piece "Going Forth By Day," an exploration of death and resurrection. After two days of discreet filming on set, Viola's wife, Kira Perov, suggested that I join them for dinner, and it was the start of a fruitful collaboration.Viola and Perov were remarkably generous and supportive throughout the filmmaking process. They welcomed me into their world, sharing insights and experiences that enriched the documentary. We traveled together to Assisi, where Viola spoke eloquently about the Giotto murals, and to the Ruhr region, where his "Five Angels for the Millennium" installation reverberated within the vast, empty gasometer, reminding me of Viola's origins in musical work with David Tudor.

Capturing the Essence of a Visionary Artist

In my experience of working with various artists, musicians, and creative individuals, Bill Viola stood out as someone who behaved the least like a star. He understood the challenge of making a film portrait and was always attentive, encouraging, and interested in my other work and my family, rather than being solely focused on his own creative endeavors.One particularly poignant moment occurred when Viola met my younger son, Sam, after a private screening of the finished film. As we walked back to Viola's hotel, he spoke to Sam about his passions, including his interest in music. Viola's words of wisdom, "Don't do things just for money. Do what's in your own heart, that's the only way," have stayed with Sam to this day.Our final shoot together took us to Joshua Tree in the desert, a landscape that had long inspired Viola. As we drove from Long Beach, Viola opened up, sharing his thoughts and insights, and I felt privileged to witness his deep connection to the natural world that had so profoundly influenced his art.

Witnessing the Gradual Decline and the Enduring Legacy

In the later years of Viola's career, I was not as moved by some of his works that incorporated actors, often slowed down to a near-immobile state. While the powerful imagery of the sea and trees in his collaboration with Peter Sellars for the production of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde was captivating, the evocations involving actors lacked the magic of his earlier, more poetic and allusive pieces.Towards the end of his productive life, before the onset of the Alzheimer's disease that would gradually diminish his faculties, Viola began to more openly acknowledge the vital role of his wife, Kira Perov, in his creative process. Perov was his constant companion on this journey, and her immense contribution and support were essential to Viola's remarkable achievements.Today, Bill Viola's work continues to captivate audiences worldwide, touching on the universal mysteries of existence, the healing power of art, and the sacred dimensions of human experience. His art, informed by a deep understanding of Buddhism, Sufism, and the European mystical tradition, avoids the didactic and instead invites the viewer to engage in a transformative encounter with the numinous. In a world that often shies away from the sacred, Viola's work stands as a testament to the enduring power of art to bridge the gap between the material and the spiritual, the personal and the universal.