Video Artist Bill Viola Dies at 73

July 14th, 2024

Sadly, Bill Viola, a famous video artist, has died. He was 73 years old. He made videos with Peter Sellars and they did something special with an opera called "Tristan und Isolde". The show was first seen in Los Angeles, Paris, and New York. Bill Viola passed away at his home in Long Beach. He had Alzheimer's disease, which is a sickness that affects the brain. The special show they created, "The Tristan Project", started in 2004 in Los Angeles. It was shown on stage in Paris and as a concert in New York. It was so good that many people in different countries saw it too. Bill Viola wanted his art to help people understand life and love better. In the show, there were big videos with pictures of people, water, fire, and candles. He worked very hard to make these videos. He even filmed by himself in the woods and made a waterfall on a stage. People think "The Tristan Project" was very important. It changed the way music and opera shows are done. In the show, there is a sad and beautiful part at the end where the character Tristan turns into bubbles and floats away. Bill Viola worked closely with his wife, Kira Perov. They sometimes used their own money to make art because they cared so much. They worked together for many years and made many beautiful things. Bill Viola was born in New York and went to school in Syracuse. He started making video art a long time ago. He lived in Italy for a while and showed his art there. Later, he went back to New York and kept making art. Bill also got some awards for his video art. His work was shown in many museums and art shows. Many people liked what he created. He leaves behind his wife, his two sons, and a daughter-in-law. Bill Viola will be remembered for his amazing art and how he shared his ideas of life and love through his videos.

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💭 Discussion Questions

. Who was Bill Viola and what was he famous for?

. What is the name of the special opera show that Bill Viola and Peter Sellars worked on together?

. What did Bill Viola want to achieve with his video art according to the article?

📖 Vocabulary

🌐 Cultural context

Bill Viola was an American artist known for his video art. He worked with an acclaimed theater director, Peter Sellars, on an opera project. Opera is a dramatic art form where singers and musicians perform a theatrical work combining text and musical score. Viola's contributions were significant in the art community. His passing has been widely felt.

🧠 Further reading

Video game

Video games are a type of electronic game that you play by using something like a joystick, keyboard, or another device. These games show pictures and often also give sounds through speakers or headphones. Many games now let you feel things, talk using a microphone, or be seen using a camera. Games can be played on different devices like big game machines in public places, game consoles at home, or computers. Nowadays, you can also play games on your phone or tablet, and some special games make you feel like you are in a different world. The first simple video games appeared in the 1950s and 1960s. The first game people could buy was made in 1971. After that, a famous game called Pong and a game machine for homes came in 1972. The video game business grew fast but had a big problem in 1983 because there were too many games and some other issues. After this problem, big Japanese companies became very important in making video games better. Video games come in many kinds, and each kind has its own way of playing. Some games are made for everyone, and others are for specific people who like certain types of games. Video games are fun and very popular all around the world.

Opera

Opera is a special kind of play where singers perform with music. They work with a person who writes music, called a composer, and someone who writes the story, called a librettist. Opera has music, actors, beautiful sets, and costumes. Sometimes there is dancing too. The music in an opera is played by an orchestra, and there is a person called a conductor who leads the musicians. Opera started long ago in Italy and is very important in the music from the Western part of the world. At first, every word was sung, but later, some operas had talking too. There are different styles of singing in opera, and in the 19h century, people started to make operas where the music didn't stop. The first opera was made in Italy over 400 years ago, and then operas started to be made in other countries too, like Germany, France, and England. Each country made its own style of opera. In the 18th century, Italian operas were very popular all over Europe, but one man named Gluck wanted to change them to make them more real. The most famous opera maker from this time was a man named Mozart, who made both serious and funny operas.

Creative industries

Creative industries are different kinds of work where people use their ideas and knowledge to make new things. They include many types of jobs like making ads, designing buildings, art, making clothes, making movies, making music, theater, writing books, and making software. Some people also say that schools are part of the creative industries. People think that being creative is very important for jobs now and in the future. They say that new ideas are the best thing a person can have to make money and have a good job. There are many names for these kinds of jobs. Sometimes it's hard to decide what jobs are creative jobs. Experts say that these creative jobs are special because people make money from new ideas. The UK government has a list of nine types of work that are called creative industries. They are important because they come from people being creative and they can make a lot of money and jobs by creating new things that other people want.