Bill Viola: The Road to St Paul’s — Can Video Art Rise to Sacred Surroundings?

FINANCIAL TIMES
By Suzi Feay

Bill Viola’s ‘Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire,Water)’ in St Paul’s

You can’t help thinking that if Christopher Wren had wanted two permanent video installations in chapels next to the high altar in St Paul’s, he would have arranged to be born 300 years later. Why video? John Moses, the former dean of St Paul’s who commissioned the work, brushes off centuries of religious art with the words “If you have a painting, you stop for 15 seconds then pass on.” Speak for yourself, your worship! This contemporary form requires a greater degree of involvement from the viewer than the traditional ones, he explains. But [Bill] Viola is not just respectful of the Renaissance tradition, he is steeped in it, and this film demonstrates that his work really can bear the comparison. [More]