Bill Viola @Brussels during Klara Festival

BILL VIOLA | Martyrs | BRUSSELS

save the dates: 9-24 March 2016 
Cathedrals of St Michael and St Gudula| Brussels
Co-production: BOZAR EXPO, Klarafestival

 Bill Viola |Earth Martyr, Air Martyr, Fire Martyr, and Water Martyr (all 2014)
Color High-Definition videos on plasma displays mounted vertically on wall,107.6 x 62.1 x 6.8 cm- each;7:10``|  

Executive producer: Kira Perov; Performers: Norman Scott, Sarah Steben, Darrow Igus, John Hay

Courtesy Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels; photocredit: Klara Festival

During the Klara Festival, BOZAR will be presenting the video installation Earth Martyr, Air Martyr, Fire Martyr & Water Martyr (2014) by the American video artist Bill Viola, at the Cathedrals of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels. Last year the work was presented at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. On four plasma screens you watch as four martyrs are exposed to the invincible forces of nature. The video ends with a blinding light that shines on the four dead martyrs. This represents their arrival in the hereafter. Viola wants to give the public a visual pause for reflection on subjects such as death, the hereafter, compassion and sacrifice. The work expresses his great admiration for the celebrated masters of painting. At the same time, he tells a story about major human emotions.

 

Bill Viola ( b.1951) is widely recognized as one of the leading video artists on the international scene. For over 30 years he has created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, and works for television broadcast. Viola’s video installations envelop the viewer in image and sound employ state-of-the-art technologies and are distinguished by their precision and direct simplicity.Since the early 1970s, Viola has used video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as an avenue to self-knowledge. His works focus on universal human experiences birth, death, the unfolding of consciousness and have roots in both Eastern and Western art as well as spiritual traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and Christian mysticism. He has been instrumental in the establishment of video as a vital form of contemporary art, and in so doing has helped to expand its scope in terms of technology, content, and historical reach.

practical:
Sinter-Goedeleplein
1000 Brussels
Mo& Fri - 07:30 - 18:00
Sat  07:30 - 15:30
Sun 14:00 - 18:00
Free entrance