Visual Arts: Bill Viola

First ever Genesis Foundation project in the visual arts

The pieces that make up The Passions are displayed on digital flat panel screens that not only give a bright, sharp picture but are portable and can be exhibited in a normal gallery setting rather like the small devotional paintings whose format Viola wants to echo.

As well, Genesis has commissioned a special piece of music for the exhibition. The Serbian composer, Isidora Žebeljan has created a special "Gallery" version of a piece called Passions: Homage to Bill Viola for a quintet consisting of a string quartet and clarinet. This piece is approximately ten minutes long and is a joint gift from Genesis to the National Gallery for this exhibition and to the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, which provided the musicians for the world premiere. Žebeljan will then, for the Academy, re-orchestrate and develop the piece for their use in the concert hall. The Gallery version was given its world premiere when the Bill Viola Exhibition was opened to the public on 22 October 2003 and another live performance was given at one of the Special Wednesday Late Night Openings of the exhibition on 15 November.

The creation of The Passions has required employing the kind of production teams that are more frequently used in the movies by Pasolini, Bergman, Kurosawa or Visconti. Bill Viola mobilized and inspired his actors and crews to make The Passions the way a director makes a film. The resulting images are often slowed down so that at first glance they appear as still as a painting. With patience and attention on the part of the audience, they create a rich and provocative experience for the spectator.

John Walsh, Curator and Director Emeritus of the Getty Museum in California has written, "For 30 years Viola's art has been devoted to exploring an unseen world of feeling, of memory, of unfulfilled yearning for wholeness. The mystical literature of Europe and Asia, and Viola's own spiritual practice, have helped lay a foundation for his work and define its purpose..."

The Passions at the National Gallery.
Bill Viola's own website.
He is represented by both the James Cohan Gallery
and Haunch of Venison.

For images and articles, please visit these websites.