Mori Art Museum

MAM Screen 001: Early Video Works by Bill Viola

25 Apr - 05 Jul 2015

Bill Viola
Ancient of Days, 1979-1981
Videotape, transferred to digital video, color, stereo sound
12 min. 21 sec.
Courtesy: Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI)
Photo: Kira Perov
MAM SCREEN 001: EARLY VIDEO WORKS BY BILL VIOLA
25 April - 5 July 2015

The development of video art, which first appeared in the 1960s, has progressed in leaps and bounds alongside innovations in video technology. As the number of video installations combining multiple media also grows, under the “MAM Screen” program single-channel video works from around the world will be screened daily over the period of the relevant exhibition, on a massive 280-inch screen. This program will be launched as an initiative independent of the exhibition framework, to enable visitors to view works on video in concentrated fashion, and at their leisure.
For the first edition of the "MAM Screen" program series, we will be showcasing the works of pioneering video artist Bill Viola, still enormously influential today.

MAM Screen 001: Early Video Works by Bill Viola

Bill Viola (born 1951) is familiar to Japanese audiences, having lived here for a year and a half since 1980 and having been awarded the Praemium Imperiale in 2011. From early in his career, he used techniques peculiar to the medium of video including looping, slow motion and superimposing to pursue the kinds of expression only achievable with video, which is time-based. In this exhibition, we trace the origins of the work of the leading figure in video art by presenting works from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
Included are important early works such as The Reflecting Pool (1977-79) and Anthem (1983) as well as Vegetable Memory (1978-80) which was recorded at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.

Works Screened
1. The Space between the teeth (1976) 9min. 10sec.
2. The Reflecting Pool (1977-79) 7min.
3. Ancient of Days (1979-81) 12min. 21sec.
4. Vegetable Memory (1978-80) 15min. 13sec.
5. Anthem (1983) 11min. 30sec.
 

Tags: Bill Viola