Bill Viola Movies

  • 2011
    A Phrase from Chris

    A Phrase from Chris

    A Phrase from Chris

    92011HD

    “Transfiguration refers to a rare process whereby both the substance and essence of an entity is reconfigured. In physical terms, a...

    A Phrase from Chris
  • 1976
    Truth Through Mass Individuation

    Truth Through Mass Individuation

    Truth Through Mass Individuation

    01976HD

    The title of Truth Through Mass Individuation references Carl Jung. An isolated figure is seen performing successively more aggressive actions...

    Truth Through Mass Individuation
  • 2005
    Basin of Tears

    Basin of Tears

    Basin of Tears

    02005HD

    In Basin of Tears, two videos are projected side by side on two adjacent screens mounted to the wall. This video diptych creates an incredible...

    Basin of Tears
  • 1977
    The Wheel of Becoming

    The Wheel of Becoming

    The Wheel of Becoming

    01977HD

    Viola describes The Wheel of Becoming as concerning "the notion of the parallel nature of reality, that is, simultaneous events separated in space."...

    The Wheel of Becoming
  • 1976
    Migration (for Jack Nelson)

    Migration (for Jack Nelson)

    Migration (for Jack Nelson)

    61976HD

    Migration is an analysis of an image, a metaphorical exercise in perception and representation, illusion and reality, microcosm and macrocosm, nature...

    Migration (for Jack Nelson)
  • 1982
    Ancient of Days

    Ancient of Days

    Ancient of Days

    7.11982HD

    Ancient of Days is a remarkable series of "canons and fugues for video" that comprises Viola's most sophisticated structural and metaphorical...

    Ancient of Days
  • 2014
    Martyrs

    Martyrs

    Martyrs

    02014HD

    Created by Bill Viola and Kira Perov and opened in May 2014, Martyrs shows four individuals, across four colour vertical plasma screens, being...

    Martyrs
  • 1977
    Memory Surfaces and Mental Prayers

    Memory Surfaces and Mental Prayers

    Memory Surfaces and Mental Prayers

    01977HD

    Memory Surfaces and Mental Prayers is a collection of works that address the desire to transcend the perceptual and cognitive structures of...

    Memory Surfaces and Mental Prayers
  • 2007
    Ocean Without a Shore

    Ocean Without a Shore

    Ocean Without a Shore

    62007HD

    Offering a series of encounters at the intersection between life and death, the work documents a succession of people slowly emerging out of darkness...

    Ocean Without a Shore
  • 2014
    Martyrs: Fire

    Martyrs: Fire

    Martyrs: Fire

    02014HD

    Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) consists of four plasma screens, each showing a single figure who is progressively overwhelmed by the onslaught of...

    Martyrs: Fire
  • 2000
    Ascension

    Ascension

    Ascension

    02000HD

    A man sinks down rapidly into the watery depths, but his inevitable and extended ascension's entire sequence, which was only a few seconds in real...

    Ascension
  • 1979
    The Reflecting Pool

    The Reflecting Pool

    The Reflecting Pool

    5.31979HD

    Viola's seminal piece, The Reflecting Pool, was made three decades ago on analogue video tape and yet could easily pass for a contemporary digital...

    The Reflecting Pool
  • 2016
    Mary

    Mary

    Mary

    02016HD

    Moving through its five parts, the work describes a cycle of birth through to death, depicting both an eternal, universal Mary, and an earthly Mary...

    Mary
  • 1975
    The Semi-Circular Canals

    The Semi-Circular Canals

    The Semi-Circular Canals

    01975HD

    The title of The Semi-Circular Canals refers to the portion of the human ear that regulates balance. Viola constructed a platform on which he and the...

    The Semi-Circular Canals
  • 2000
    The Quintet of the Astonished

    The Quintet of the Astonished

    The Quintet of the Astonished

    02000HD

    The Quintet of the Astonished shows the unfolding expressions of five actors in such extreme slow motion that every minute detail of their changing...

    The Quintet of the Astonished
  • 1976
    Songs of Innocence

    Songs of Innocence

    Songs of Innocence

    01976HD

    Songs of Innocence, which directly references the visionary Romanticism of William Blake, is haunted with symbolic transformations, as shifting light...

    Songs of Innocence
  • 2012
    Walking on the Edge

    Walking on the Edge

    Walking on the Edge

    02012HD

    This work represents the inevitable separation of father and son as they take separate paths in their life's journey. Two men arrive in the desert...

    Walking on the Edge
  • 2002
    Fire Birth

    Fire Birth

    Fire Birth

    02002HD

    Fire Birth
  • 1995
    The Greeting

    The Greeting

    The Greeting

    01995HD

    Inspired by a painting of the Visitation (1528-29) by the Italian artist Pontormo, The Greeting is a video image sequence involving the interactions...

    The Greeting
  • 1975
    Red Tape: Collected Works

    Red Tape: Collected Works

    Red Tape: Collected Works

    01975HD

    Red Tape -- Collected Works Bill Viola 1975, 30 min, color, sound Playing Soul Music to My Freckles 1975, 2:46 min, color, sound A Non-Dairy...

    Red Tape: Collected Works