Bill Viola is one of the few contemporary video artists who explores the medium both conceptually and sensually, rather than using it as a narrative document or film substitute. Through dramatic use of space, his installations function less as concrete works and more like enveloping, temporal environments aimed at creating visceral experiences for the viewer -- sort of like Happenings with a rewind button. Viola uses the contradictions between flowing and interrupted time in the video installations assembled for the Selected Works Exhibition.
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