Bill Viola

(Queens, New York City, New York, 1951 - 2024, Long Beach, California)

North America, American

Bill Viola was a pivotal figure in the establishment of video as a vital form of contemporary art, and helped expand its scope in terms of technology, content, and historical reach. His works focused on sense perception and universal experiences—birth, death, consciousness—and has roots in both Eastern and Western art as well as spiritual traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and Christian mysticism. For over 40 years he created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, and works for television broadcast. Viola’s video installations are often total environments that envelop the viewer in image and sound and are distinguished by their precision and simplicity.

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