1. ARTIST: (Biographical information, training, style/
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES: (art making
period, where lived/ created art, influences)
BILL VIOLA: 1951 to Present/ He is a digital, video,
and sound artist that lives in New York City. His
major influence was Renaissance art that he was
exposed to in Florence.
4. TITLE(S) OF MAJOR WORK(S):
 The Crossing (1996)
 Anima (2000)
 Emergence (2011)
 The Reflecting Pool (1979)
 Ascension (2000)
 Acceptance (2008)
6. INTENDED PURPOSE & MOTIVATION (why was it
made?); PATRON/AUDIENCE (who was it made for?);
ARTIST’S DECISION MAKING:
Because Viola learned about different cultures and
the struggles of mankind throughout the ages, he
decided to depict that in his works. His work was not
made for any specific audience, it was more to
represent the impact that a small video with very
precise effects can have on a person.
2. STYLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS: (use of design
elements/ principles: color, shape, value, texture,
line, space; balance, contrast, emphasis,
movement, etc.)
In this film, he made a person stay still while he
uses visuals like a background light and slow
motion to depict a figure wrestling with the forces
of nature. He uses specific water noises so that the
viewer can become immersed in the peacefulness
of the video.
7. INNOVATION/ CHANGE(S):
This piece showed how film can also be a form of art
but in a different way. Just because it is not a still
picture does not mean that it is not art.
CONVENTION/ TRADITION(S):
People see him as a master of immersing people
into a peaceful world when they watch his short
films. They respect his ability to draw on different
beliefs even if they are not apparent.
3.
processes)
Video/ sound Installation
Two channels of color video projections from
opposite sides of a large, dark gallery onto two
large back to back screens suspended from the
ceiling and mounted onto the floor. There is four
channels of amplified stereo sound and four
speakers.
5. TITLE/ FORM/ ORIGINAL CONTEXT/ SITE/
INTENDED FUNCTION OF FOCUS WORK (IMAGE IN
CENTER): 239. The Crossing (1996)
The context of “The Crossing” is to show life and
death. He wanted to make use of visuals and
sound effects to show how film can be used as art.
This work became famous because of the contrast
in the water in one screen and the fire in another
and how the person is standing completely still
through it all.
8. THEME(S):
His major theme is mankind struggling with the forces
of nature. He also makes use of nonspecific spiritual
processes drawn from multiple disparate belief
systems.
COMPARE TO ANOTHER WORK:
Chris Burden’s video “Through the Night Softly” (1973),
shows him dragging himself across glass because he
was at a dark point in his life. While he used a similar
film setup like Viola, he showed more of a rough edge
to reality unlike the peacefulness of Viola’s videos.