Bill Viola and Matthew Barney

Today's class we watched two documentaries on more current and influential video artists. I found Bill Viola interesting in how he integrated nature into almost all of his works. I love how he used the works of Giotto to inspire him in his works. He said in the documentary that the works of Giotto seem theatrical, which is something that I've never noticed before but after hearing him say this completely agree. The theme of life and death was emotional in the way that he brings his mother dying into his works that clearly is something extremely personal, however he uses the theme of nature and the cycle of life to show how when one leaves, another comes into the world with the display of the new baby and his mother on the same screen. Meanwhile his theme of water was interesting in the story of his he became inspired. It seems also tragic that he would be inspired by almost drowning as a child, meanwhile he used what he saw at the bottom of the lake to create a life-time of video art. I really liked how he used what we see everyday, such as landscape and water etc., to not only influence his works, but to create them also. Once again he is another artist that is contextualizing the world. For instance he contextualizes Giotto's frescos by bringing them to life.
On the other hand, Matthew Barney focuses on nature but through the human body. According to Barney in the documentary, he believes that "everything in the world is an extension of the body". His project exhibited in New York was all centered around the human reproductive systems of both males and females. The way he sees things is interesting in how he views the world as all coming from this one object. Or how a football field's shape was influence by the reproductive system. I loved how he was able to take one focus and make several different projects out of the theme that were all completely different but related. His video art was interesting with the costumes and performance art. His use of the female athlete was great in the sense that he completely contextualized her from what she would normally be assumed to do. Being a runner, no one would ever view her as an actor or piece in performance or video art.