The American video artist who work was central to Peter Sellars’ and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s celebrated 2004 Tristan und Isolde, has died of Alzheimers complications aged 73.
He started out as a student of the John Cage associate, David Tudor.
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It’s not my style but there is a recent book about it.
Whether it’s your ‘style’ or not Bill Viola was a great artist who’s spiritual insights moved many.
RIP
His work up until The Passing in 1991 was some of the most sublime in the video format, he was in my view a bona fide genius of the medium. In some of the later work, well it never rains but it pours. A sad end to a great artist.
That video sequence is so incredibly more powerful when coupled with Wagner’s music – it plays during Isolde’s Liebestod in his and Sellars’ production of Wagner’s Tristan. https://youtu.be/wLs3a8bvBGg?feature=shared
Indeed beautiful effect.
I hated Peter Sellar’s Tristan, but Bill Viola was a hugely talented video artist and I am very sorry to hear of his death.