362. MARTYRS (EARTH, WIND, FIRE, WATER) by BILL VIOLA

MARTYRS - EARTH, WIND, FIRE, WATER (2014) video

St Paul's Cathedral 

 

Martyrs shows four individuals, across four colour vertical plasma screens, being martyred by the four classical elements: earth flies up to entomb, winds slash and tear, flames engulf and water cascades with deadly accuracy. 

But Bill Viola's work opens with  stillness. The man in a white shirt sits calmly with head bowed, hands on knees.The man on the right is first shown shackled and crouching on the floor.  A woman in a slim white dress hangs suspended by ropes, ankles tethered to the floor. 
Then the  crouching man is gently uplifted, feet first, until suspended and the torrent begins. At the same genteel pace  a single flame descends from on high to settle near the seated man - then two or three or a hundred until a fireball blazes. The work lasts 7 minutes. It has no sound.

Some find the images too graphic and ask what business St Paul's Cathedral has to show such suffering. Others stand and, through tears, pray in front of the work as they  see the suffering of their own community reflected there. On the other hand for some the images are too anodyne, too safe, too picturesque.  The man is in flames, but is not being burnt.
 

We are used to watching violence in films or crime reconstruction or sports fixtures. There may be a replay in slow motion, but the media controls the viewer. Here it is different. As  the action is slowed down and the story unravels, our perception and understanding is deepened. These pieces bypass rationality. They touch our inner capacity to attend patiently to the nuances of real feelings. And to stay in the here and now, however terrible. Many people watch it more than once then walk quietly away.

Years ago I saw Viola's video The Visitation  at the Haunch of Venison Gallery. It features the moment when two pregnant women - Mary the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth her cousin -  embrace as they meet. It moved me to tears. The paradox is that we know we are watching actors, we know that they are feigning emotion. But Viola’s work is charged with a peculiar energy. We are no longer spectators.

In the face of dignity and resilience we may reflect on our own gift of life, of being, and the gift we could give in who we become, and how our lives and death may transform the world Bill Viola

HOW DO I GET TO SEE IT FOR FREE?
The installations have been given to Tate, and are on long-term loan to St Paul’s Cathedral.The good news is that anyone can see them for free, without paying what, for some, is a somewhat substantial fee for visiting the cathedral.  Just turn up at 11.30am or 2.15pm Monday to Friday. You get a BILL VIOLA sticker on your lapel and can in fact see much of the interior of St Pauls as you walk to and from the installation.

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE? 
In Art and Christianity,  Mark Oakley, Canon Chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral, reviews The Unspeakable Art of Bill Viola by Ronald Bernier, 'a short, intelligent and accessible introduction to Viola's work'

AND SEE MORE?
Bill Viola Quintet of the Unseen (Blog 60)