Late this past summer, the New York Times ran a review of the pioneering video art of Billy Viola, on display at several fine arts installations in Philadelphia. Viola’s work is marked by, what the critic calls “humanistic spiritualism” (Deus est homo anyone?) and examining the fragility of the boundaries between life and death; accordinly initiates of the III* of O.T.O. might find these worth contemplating — if Crowley’s discussion of his intent for the degree as he expressed it in his Confessions are to be believed. The review starts out:
“When rereading a classic novel many years after college, one finds that greater maturity often deepens the experience, bringing more insight into the author’s objective. Recently, I had a similar reaction in viewing 10 videos of varying length, several for the second time, by the artist Bill Viola during a daylong marathon among three museums here. Engrossed in the humanistic spiritualism that permeates Mr. Viola’s work, blended with his idiosyncratic imagination about the activities of daily life, I emerged with a fresh understanding of how his representation of a singular instance stands for a timeless worldview of both people and nature.”
Read the entire review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/arts/design/bill-viola-barnes-video.html.
