VIOLA: BILL VIOLA. THE EYE OF THE HEART (DVD)

Hailed as the 'Rembrandt of the video age' internationally-renowned American artist Bill Viola will become the first ever contemporary artist to be featured in a major one-man show at London's prestigious National Gallery. Since 1972 Viola has created critically-acclaimed architectural video installations, sound environments, videotapes, electronic music performances and works for television broadcast. His evocative pieces focus on universal human experiences and are inspired by both western and eastern art as well as religion and mystical traditions . Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart features the artist at work, rarely-seen footage from his own archive and in-depth interviews with Viola himself. Film maker, Mark Kidel, of Calliope Media, was granted unprecedented access to Bill Viola and his personal archives in the process of making the documentary. Within the film Viola talks passionately about his life and the artistic influences that have driven his artwork from the beginning and made him one of the true pioneers of video-art. From his childhood memory of drowning, to the artistic exploration and political activism of his years at Syracuse University, and on to the shattering death of his mother, Viola talks candidly about the interplay of his life and work. As many of his works focus on emotions and the great universal experiences, the documentary highlights just how much Viola's life and work are inextricably linked.