Syracuse University

Bill Viola ′73, H′95
For Excellence in Video Art

A pioneer in establishing video as a vital form of contemporary art, Viola became interested in electronic media at the age of nine, when he was named captain of his school's TV Squad during the fifth grade. He continued to follow his passion during his college career by taking courses in what was then an experimental "new media" program at SU, studying visual art with Jack Nelson and electronic music with Franklin Morris.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in experimental studios from SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Viola went on to become one of the world's most noted and lauded video artists. For more than 35 years, he has created video installations that wrap the viewer in image and sound, using the latest technology to express a deeply spiritual view of the world. His videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and works for television broadcast employ state-of-the-art technologies and are distinguished by their precision and direct simplicity.

Viola uses video to explore the phenomenon of sense perception as an avenue to self-knowledge, and his work focuses on such universal human experiences as birth, death, and the unfolding of consciousness. Using the inner language of subjective thoughts and collective memories, his videos communicate to a wide audience, allowing viewers to experience the work directly and in their own personal way. His work has been seen at venues throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, including exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin.

Music has also been an integral part of Viola's life and work. He performed with avant garde composer David Tudor as a member of his Rainforest ensemble, later known as Composers Inside Electronics, and has created videos to accompany a wide variety of music compositions. His work with music ranges from a three-song video suite for the rock group Nine Inch Nails to a new production of Wagner's opera, Tristan und Isolde.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1989 and, most recently, the Catalonia International Prize in 2009, Viola was recently named by the French government as a commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. He is also a recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been awarded honorary doctorates from his alma mater, as well as from the School of Art Institute of Chicago, the California Institute of the Arts, and the Royal College of Art in London, among others.

Viola shares his time and talent with SU students, most recently working with students in the LA Semester, opening his studio to them and allowing them to assist in the production of some of his upcoming videos.