Bill
Viola

He was born in New York in 1951 and studied art at Syracuse University (N. Y.), graduating with a degree in Visual and Performing Arts. His early interests were in electronic music, performance and experimental film. He was particularly influenced by structural cinema and the film theory and practice of authors such as Stan Brakhage, Hollis Frampton and Michael Snow. Since the 1980s he has won several scholarships, including one that enabled him to move to Japan where he works for Sony. Since the early 1970s, his videos and installations have been presented at the most important international events and his solo exhibitions have been held at major contemporary art museums. In 1995 he participated in the Venice Biennale with a series of installations entitled Buried Secrets. He lives and works in Long Beach.