Visiting Artist, Bill Viola

Bill Viola, an experimental electronic artist from New York gave an almost inspirational and somewhat interesting convocation on Wednesday. His organization throughout the convo seemed a little off, and the topics of talk ranged from Viola’s inspirations to the technology of our generation. Viola’s most intriguing topic, which was focused towards our artistic movement now, was the idea that technology could be used for good or for bad. This was interesting to think about, but it was very hard to learn about, from Viola’s talk. Bill viola took the topic to different levels of consciousness, which was then related to his experimental videos. 

The video’s that included an individual, in which fire or water engulfed their body, were very intriguing. The individual is completely lost in the water, but you as the viewer still know they are there from the shape of the water. Bill Viola’s videos were very intriguing and made me think about the technology that is within our generation’s grasps, and how we can utilize this technology through art. His convocation talk was hard to follow and somewhat disorganized, but his main themes could be seen in the experimental videos that were the main aspect of his artist visit.
Here is a link to the video "The Crossing"

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/9