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Art has always had as its test in the long term the ability to speak to our innermost selves.
Bill Viola
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Art's true value lies in its capacity to resonate deeply within us over time.

This quote by Bill Viola suggests that the ultimate measure of art is its ability to connect with the profound aspects of our inner lives. Art is not merely a superficial aesthetic experience; instead, it serves as a mirror to our deepest emotions and thoughts, allowing for self-reflection and understanding across time.

Themes

ArtInner SelfExpressionConnectionEmotion

In practice

Example use cases

A gallery opening where the artist speaks about the emotional depth of their work.

More from Bill Viola

Art is, for me, the process of trying to wake up the soul. Because we live in an industrialized, fast-paced world that prefers that the soul remain asleep.
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A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and empty. And putting yourself in the right place for things to, literally, come together.
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You are just as qualified as any expert to make a judgment and have a feeling or a response to any work of art.
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The fundamental aspect of video is not the image, even though you can stand in amazement at what can be done electronically, how images can be manipulated and the really extraordinary creative possibilities. For me the essential basis of video is the movement - something that exists at the moment and changes in the next moment.
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