15 Facts About Bill Viola

Bill Viola's works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, death, and aspects of consciousness.

In 1973, Viola graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts in experimental studies.

From 1973 to 1980, Bill Viola studied and performed with composer David Tudor in the new music group "Rainforest".

Bill Viola was invited to show work at La Trobe University in 1977, by cultural arts director Kira Perov.

Bill Viola received a Guggenheim Fellowship for fine arts in 1985.

Bill Viola represented the United States at the 46th Venice Biennale in 1995 for which he produced a series of works called Buried Secrets, including one of his best known works The Greeting, a contemporary interpretation of Pontormo's The Visitation.

The first biography of Bill Viola, entitled Bill Viola on Video, was written by Federico Utrera and published in Spain in 2011.

Bill Viola studio is run by his wife, Kira Perov, who is the executive director.

Bill Viola worked with Viola from 1978 managing and assisting him with his videotapes and installations.

Bill Viola died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at home in Long Beach, California, on July 12,2024, at the age of 73.

Bill Viola often explored dualism, or the idea that comprehension of a subject is impossible unless its opposite is known.

In 2000, Bill Viola collaborated with the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails and its lead singer Trent Reznor to create a video suite for the band's tour.

In 2004, Bill Viola began work on a new production of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, a collaboration with director Peter Sellars, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and executive producer Kira Perov.

Bill Viola felt as if there are three different structures to describe patterns of data structures.

Bill Viola was awarded the XXIst Catalonia International Prize in 2009.