Bill Viola - Ocean Without a Shore - Venice Biennale 2007

[PooleyX]

Incredible. Absolutely amazing. I can't find the words. Extraordinary. That someone can still pluck such a beautiful truth from life is stunning.

[Crashey86]

Absolutely stunning. And the way Bill Viola explains the piece is perfect. I get my own understanding from it, which is similar to his.

[TerraMichele10]

Bill Viola is the Best Artist now in the art's World!!! I like his work and is ART I hope that He make my videoMusic...

[smiffi]

hammy

[joeyjobear]

Who is this guy and why should I care?

[WAYWAYWAYOuch]

Oo

[gazeitgeistmnm24]

I was there in Venice and got to see the installation...it was mysterious and beautiful!

[tobiasfangor25]

Saw this at NGV a while back and it made everyone in the room cry, you literally feel like you're in a house of mourning it's incredible!

[discoowl]

are they zombies?

[jdavis234]

Incredible work.

[ALLscaledUP]

I saw this a few weeks ago in Melbourne at the NGV. Truely stunning. When they pass through the curtain it's like a Caravaggio painting.

[tobiasfangor25]

@ALLscaledUP It's funny you say this, my Year 12 visual arts exam is tomorrow and I have to compare 2 artisits and artworks.. I've chosen Bill Viola (Ocean Without A shore) and a Caravaggio (Narcissus)

[graphixeduc8or]

The water almost looks like wings when they return.

[danartofficial]

That's amazing, I wish I had seen the work in Venice!

[AaronBalitskyz]

oh my god im amazed... this is some great AMAZING work ive ever seen/......

[georgiabates]

we are studying him as an artist for year 12 VCE studio arts.

water is a symbol/metaphor of death in his work. due to his mothers drowning and his own near drowning.

in Ocean Without A Shore it is used for the passing from life to death.

i must say i prefer him a great deal to the other artist we are studying...Yasumasa Morrimura.....pretty much everyone in my class cant stand him, but most dont mind Viola :)

[heyboy08]

his mother died of a stroke, btw, she didn't drown.

BILL IS THE BEST

[georgiabates]

yeah i realised i typed that after i posted it but then couldnt be bothered changing it lol cos i was writing his near drowning and his mothers death..and accidently wrote his mothers drowning.

[ireneluz2002]

Viola makes contemporary art worth seeing.

[L2LoveYouMore]

I saw this in Melbourne and at first I was really creeped out. But when they pass through the water the sound of it breaking over them is so beautiful...He's great!

[AlbusNoir]

wonderful...

[PennyOz]

Yes it moved me

[spicchio]

thanks!

[VOLIOTI]

Very imaginative, with lots of creativity! Technologically splendid work and incredible realisation with water!

[AnniePalanie16]

Wow. I feel enlightened :)

Very good.

[trbstrangerous]

omygod...wow he's so brilliant.

[Freeflightkb]

Christian's use water to baptize people in, to physically show the cleansing of the soul, Muslim's use it to cleanse themselves before they pray, to show that they are clean before they talk to God. Water is fundamentally pure and beautiful.

[kixio]

Your right, the religious perception of water is the giver of life, its an amazing piece from a meaning aspect and also spectacular from a technological aspect.

[chuckieegg]

I saw this in Venice - the location made the work particularly profound - I thought it was absolutely amazing. The water made me think of Baptism and how that relates to resurrection in a Christian context, but also to the cleansing of the soul, how people are washed of sin merely by the act of Baptism, and in that act, resurrection can happen to anyone, at any stage in their life :-)

This was also reflective of the watery location of Venice itself, and also references Taoism.

[liquidbride]

so great

[MorrisMedia]

Bill Viola is completely inspiring.I love his work. He's a diamond for the art world.