The Crossing
Bill Viola. 1996 C.E. US. Video/sound installation
To evoke the viewer's senses and create a feeling of spirituality. His work focuses and sensory perception and tries to take viewers on a trip to the spiritual realm. The videos are able to accomplish this through slow motion, contrasts in scale, shifts in focus, mirrored reflections, etc.
FORM:
video/sound installation; double sided
FUNCTION:
force viewers to reevaluate their perceptions of time, transcendence, and rebirth
CONTENT:
on one side of the piece a man walk forward in slow motion to eventually be drenched in a trickle of water that becomes a torrent until he disappears; on the other side the man walks forward in slow motion again, only now to be engulfed in flames until he disappears; same audio for both sides
CONTEXT:
Viola was influenced by various religions; he often explored transitional states in his work
