The Crossing.

The Crossing. Bill Viola. 1996 C.E. Video/sound installation.

• Bill Viola’s The Crossing is a room-sized video installation that comprises a large two-sided screen onto which a pair of video sequences is simultaneously projected.
• a male figure walks slowly towards the camera; pauses near the foreground and stands still; He faces forward, staring directly into the lens, motionless.
• At this point the two scenes diverge; in one, a small fire alights below the figure’s feet.  It spreads over his legs and torso and eventually engulfs his whole body in flames; yet, he stands calm and completely still as his body is immolated, only moving to raise his arms slightly before his body disappears in an inferno of roaring flames.  
• After the flames and the torrent of water eventually retreat, the figure has vanished entirely from each scene, and the camera witnesses a silent and empty denouement.
• it was shot using high-speed film capable of registering 300 frames per second, thus attaining a much greater level of detail than would be discerned by the naked eye. In postproduction, Viola reduces the speed of playback to an extreme slow motion—further enhancing the level of definition to a dramatic and scrutinizing effect.
• Viola’s use of slow-motion is meant to invite a meditative and contemplative response, one that requires the viewer to concentrate for a longer duration of time and simultaneously to increase his or her own awareness of detail, movement and change. 
• artist’s intent to reignite the longstanding relationship between artistic and spiritual experience. 
•  Viola has been inspired by a rich variety of spiritual traditions, including Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. 
• the elemental forces of fire and water often symbolize change, redemption, transformation and renewal
• As early as the 1970s, Viola was one of the first visual artists to make use of new video technologies.  As a student he experimented enthusiastically with new portable recording devices, with which he created short video performances that explored a variety of gestures, sounds and expressions. 
• The continuing integration of historical art into contemporary public and religious life inspired Viola to design installations that mimicked the forms of devotional paintings, diptychs, predellas and altarpieces—formats that encourage intimate contemplation of religious icons.