Infinite Journey

Bill Viola in der Moritzkirche
Vier Videoarbeiten zum 1000-jährigen Jubiläum

10. März bis 1. September 2019

Eröffnung:
Sa., 9. März 2019 | 20 Uhr

Kunstgespräche:
So., 24.März | 15 Uhr,
Di., 21. Mai | 19.30 Uhr
Fr., 26. Juli | 18.30 Uhr

Bill Viola (*1951 in New York) zeigt anlässlich des Jubiläumsjahres vier bedeutende Arbeiten unter dem Titel „Infinite Journey“ in der Moritzkirche. Er ist einer der Pioniere der Videokunst und zählt zu den bedeutendsten lebenden Künstlern weltweit. Spätestens seit der Biennale in Venedig 1995 faszinieren seine Installationen ein internationales Publikum – bis heute. Dass nun zum Jubiläum von März bis September 2019 an vier Orten in der Kirche Arbeiten von Bill Viola zu sehen sind, ist ein besonderes Geschenk. Zu erleben ist eine durchdringende Begegnung von Raum und Bild, vom Sakralraum der Moritzkirche mit seiner Figur des Christus Salvator und den Videoarbeiten Bill Violas. Für ihn sind es die Bilder, die uns Menschen schon seit den Höhlenmalereien mit unseren tiefsten Gefühlen und mit einer anderen Welt in uns und über unsere Realität hinaus in Verbindung bringen, womit wir uns stets an der Grenze zwischen künstlerischem und spirituellem Erleben bewegen. Bill Viola gelingt es, seinen Videos und Installationen eine Präsenz und Intensität zu verleihen, denen man sich nicht entziehen kann und die einen auch danach nicht mehr loslassen werden. Eine in vielerlei Hinsicht unendliche Reise. [mg]

Kreuzkapelle

Bill Viola
Water Martyr, 2014

Color high-definition video on flat panel display mounted vertically on wall
42 3/8 x 24 1/2 x 2 5/8 in. (107.6 x 62.1 x 6.8 cm)
7:10 minutes
Executive producer: Kira Perov
Performer: John Hay

Südl. Seitenschiff, Eingang Marienkapelle

Bill Viola
Observance, 2002

Color high-definition video on flat panel display mounted vertically on wall
47 1/2 x 28 1/2 x 4 in. (120.7 x 72.4 x 10.2 cm)
10:14 minutes
Performers: Alan Abelew, Sheryl Arenson, Frank Bruynbroek, Carol Cetrone, Cathy Chang, Ernie Charles, Alan Clark, JD Cullum, Michael Irby, Tanya Little, Susan Matus, Kate Noonan, Paul O’Connor, Valerie Spencer, Louis Stark, Richard Stobie, Michael Eric Strickland, Ellis Williams

Südl. Seitenschiff, Eingang Sakristei

Bill Viola
Three Women, 2008

Color high-definition video on flat panel display mounted vertically on wall
61 1/4 x 36 3/8 x 5 in. (155.5 x 92.5 x 12.7 cm)
9:06 minutes
Performers: Anika, Cornelia, Helena Ballent

Taufkapelle

Bill Viola
Ablutions, 2005

Color video diptych on two flat panel displays mounted vertically on wall
40 1/4 x 48 x 4 1/4 in. (102 x 122 x 10.8 cm)
7:01 minutes
Performers: Lisa Rhoden, Jeff Mills

Descriptions:

Water Martyr is one of four works that are derived from the permanent large-scale video installation Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), unveiled at St Paul's Cathedral, London in May of 2014. As the work opens, an individual is shown on the ground in stasis, a pause from his suffering. Gradually there is movement as an element of nature begins to disturb his stillness. As he is raised by his ankles, water starts to cascade from above. The stronger the water rages, the more the martyr’s resolve remains unchanged. In its most violent assault, the water represents the darkest hour of the martyr’s passage through death into the light. The Greek word for martyr originally meant “witness.” In today’s world, the mass media turns us all into witnesses to the suffering of others. The martyrs’ past lives of action can help illuminate our modern lives of inaction. They also exemplify the human capacity to bear pain, hardship, and even death in order to remain faithful to their values, beliefs, and principles. This piece represents ideas of action, fortitude, perseverance, endurance, and sacrifice.

Observance, 2002                 

A steady stream of people slowly moves forward toward us. One by one they pause at the head of the line, overcome with emotion. Their gazes are fixed on an unknown object just out of sight below the edge of the frame. An air of solemnity and sorrow pervades the scene.  Individuals sometimes touch each other gently or exchange brief glances as they pass.  Couples comfort one another in their shared grief. All are unified by their common desire to reach the front of the line and make contact with what is there. Once their solitary moment is fulfilled, they move to the back of the line to make way for the others.

Three Women, 2008                                    

Three Women is part of the Transfigurations series, a group of works that reflect on the passage of time and the process by which a person’s inner being is transformed. The Sufi mystic Ibn al’ Arabi described life as an endless journey when he said, “The Self is an ocean without a shore. Gazing upon it has no beginning or end, in this world and the next.” Three Women expresses this profound vision of the eternal nature of human life. In the dim, ghostly gray of a darkened space, a mother and her two daughters slowly approach an invisible boundary. They pass through a wall of water at the threshold between life and death, and move into the light, transforming into living beings of flesh and blood. Soon the mother recognizes that it is time for her to return, and eventually her children slowly follow, each tempted to have one more look at the world of light before disappearing into the shimmering, gray mists of time.

Ablutions, 2005

zur web-Präsenz von Bill Viola: www.billviola.com

Bill VIOLA biography engl.