Was saddened this evening to learn of the death of Bill Viola, and surprised to learn that he was only 73 because he’d been such an important artist for so long, and for those SFers who’ve never heard of him beoforee, he was the first video artist - ie. someone who didn’t just point a newly invented video camera at something, but worked with it as a medium in a way that we now take for granted.
But the principal reason that I’m saddened is that his art could link the mediaeval with the present - timeless attitudes to life, death and belief. This all may sound very pretentious but if you encounter a Viola video installation you don’t have to know anything about art to be emotionally moved by it.
Unfortunately this doesn’t translate well to viewing online you need to view it first hand, it can look meaningless or pretentious on a laptop or a phone so all I can add, is remember the name and if you ever have the chance to see his work, grab it!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/arts/bill-viola-dead.html