003 Bill Viola the reflecting pool -la bassin miroir 1977-79 7 minutes performeur Bill Viola
the reflecting pool -la bassin miroir 1977-79 7 minutes performeur Bill Viola
010 Bill Viola heaven and earth -ciel et terre 1992 video en boucle museum of contemporary art San Diego
heaven and earth -ciel et terre 1992 video en boucle museum of contemporary art San Diego
012 Bill Viola nine attempts to achieve immortality -neuf tentatives pour atteindre 1996 limmortalite 18 mi13sec performeur Bill Viola
nine attempts to achieve immortality -neuf tentatives pour atteindre 1996 limmortalite 18 mi13sec performeur Bill Viola
019 Bill Viola the veiling -les voiles 1995 deux projections a travers neuf grands voiles 30 minutes
the veiling -les voiles 1995 deux projections a travers neuf grands voiles 30 minutes
020 Bill Viola surrender-abandon 2001 diptyque video 18 minutes performeurs J Fleck -W Garretson
surrender-abandon 2001 diptyque video 18 minutes performeurs J Fleck -W Garretson
034 Bill Viola four hands 2001 4 ecrans LCD 23 minutes performeurs B Viola K Perov B Viola L Stark
four hands 2001 4 ecrans LCD 23 minutes performeurs B Viola K Perov B Viola L Stark
038-2 Bill Viola Catherine s room -la chambre de Catherine 2001 5 ecrans LCD 18 minutes performeuse Weba Garretson
Catherine s room -la chambre de Catherine 2001 5 ecrans LCD 18 minutes performeuse Weba Garretson
047-6 Bill Viola the sleep of reason -la sommeil de la raison 1988 Carnegie museum of art Pittsburgh
the sleep of reason -la sommeil de la raison 1988 Carnegie museum of art Pittsburgh
051 Bill Viola going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light 35 minutes chaque
going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light 35 minutes chaque
057 Bill Viola going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light coll Pinault
going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light coll Pinault
059 Bill Viola going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light 35 minutes chaque
going forth by day -sortir au jour 2002 installation audio video 5 parties 1-fire birth 2-the parh 3-the deluge 4-the voyage 5- first light 35 minutes chaque
063 Bill Viola Tristan s ascension-le son d une montagne sous une cascade 2005 10 minu 16 sec performeur John Hay coll Pinault
Tristan s ascension-le son d une montagne sous une cascade 2005 10 minu 16 sec performeur John Hay coll Pinault
082 Bill Viola fire woman -femme de feu 2005 projection video definition en couleur 4 canaux audio avec subwoofer 11minu 12sec performeuse Robin Bonaccorsi coll Pinault
fire woman -femme de feu 2005 projection video definition en couleur 4 canaux audio avec subwoofer 11minu 12sec performeuse Robin Bonaccorsi coll Pinault
094 Bill Viola ascension 2000 projection video en couleur son stereo 10 minu perfrmeur Josh Coxx
ascension 2000 projection video en couleur son stereo 10 minu perfrmeur Josh Coxx

Dates: March 5 to July 21. Venue: Grand Palais – National Gallery, Paris. Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. The Grand Palais retrospective is the largest and most important retrospective of artist Bill Viola’s work. It is also the first grand video art exhibition held at the Grand Palais. Presenting Bill Viola’s meticulous creations over forty years, through video, sound, and spatial installations of images, it guides the audience into a spiritual journey.

“If you promise to enter the journey, you will arrive.” — Ibn Arabi (1165–1240)

“Time Sculpture” is how Bill Viola defines his art. “Time is the primary material of film and video; the mechanical nature of these cameras, films, tapes, and human handling is all time. People create events that unfold as such, within a strict structural framework, embodied in the tape or film, constructing an experiential course. In feeling, like a reel, it is one of many forms of visual communication from the past.” (Note 1). Time is something Bill Viola likes to solidify, repeat, and delay until its limits, thereby revealing all those clues and forms. Note 1: The Universe Continues to Be in the Present Tense. In Viola, Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House: Writings 1973–1994. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995, p. 253 (translation by J. Neutres).

“I was born with video in a certain era.” — Bill Viola

Aesthetic and media practice approximates this: fixing the present moment, focusing on viewing to penetrate the subject as consciously as possible. What exactly do I see? The camera acts as the artist’s second eye, giving us “re-learning to look,” and approaching crossing the world or being within appearances. This exhibition is constructed like a three-phase introspective journey, revolving around three major metaphysical questions that Bill Viola has continuously questioned through his works over forty years: Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? The artist does not answer these questions, but we can clearly reflect upon them. “People of the past called it (…) mystery. They did not answer. Nor did they answer life or death. One must experience it, approach it, explore it, but ultimately there are no answers.” (Note 2) Note 2: Bill Viola, op. cit., p. 273 (translation by J. Neutres). The above short text is translated from the introduction to the Bill Viola Grand Palais Retrospective.