Bill Viola: Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), St Paul’s Cathedral, Review: 'Sanitised'

THE TELEGRAPH
By Mark Hudson

"Water Martyr" by Bill Viola

UNITED KINGDOM---Bill Viola's video piece for St Paul's Cathedral seems to be striving for profundity, but the end result feels curiously lifeless. We expect a degree of gravitas in a work presented in a church. Yet if the dark backgrounds recall the chiaroscuro of baroque religious painting, the lighting resembles a car advert. The weightiness of the imagery is presented as self-evident, but the end result is rather flat and ponderous. I feel reluctant to pour cold water on a project that attempts to renew the tradition of churches as places of artistic wonder. The piece didn’t resonate for me, but I hope I’m in a minority of one. [link]