Three Visual Artist (Video Installation)

My Three Installation Artist

Sam Taylor-Wood

London, Croydon’s born and bred, Samantha Taylor Wood was born on 4^th March 1967.

She’s known as an English Film Marker, photographer and visual artist. Many people would remember her for having directed ‘Nowhere Boys’ which followed the lives of famous Liverpool band: The Beatles. This film starred, Aaron Taylor-Johnson who is now her husband.

During the years she has be responsible for making some of the most controversial video installations of her time. Her first; Still Life, shows a bowl of fruit rotting over a period of months in slow motion. Taylor-Wood had beaten cancer twice before hitting 35 years. The virus attacked her once in her colon and the other in her breast. When asked about her inspiration behind the ‘Still Life’ installation, she said ‘I saw it as more of how our bodies decay but our thoughts endure. Pens are use to document our thoughts... And the impression we leave in this world is not by the physical presence of the body, but the thoughts we implant unto others’. The second installation is a more disturbing one in my opinion. It has the power to make you feel uncomfortable, on edge and frankly disgusted. However, having said that, you are yet unable to take your eyes away from the screen. ‘A Little Death’ sees a rabbit body decaying, again over a period of months.

Bill Viola

Viola was born on the 25^th January 1952 in New York, USA. He is a contemporary visual artist. He is considered the leading figure of artist in New Media. His works mainly focus on the ideas behind the fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and aspects consciousness.

Whilst researching the works of Bill Viola, I came across one of his installation videos called ‘Emergency’ which I thought was absolutely stunning. It shows a man emerging out of what looks like a well full of water. Keeping in line with Viola’s nature of Art, the video is presented in an extreme slow motion. There are two women sitting at beside the well as this man rises. His body is pale and almost lifeless. Viola says his inspiration behind ‘Emergency’ was a picture he once saw of Jesus Christ but, argues that this art piece is not linked to religion.

He almost always involves the usage of water in his video as it brings out a nostalgic feeling for him.

Matthew Barney

Barney was born 25^th March 1967 in CA, USA.  He is an American artist who dabbles in sculpturing, photography and film. His most famous piece was a project which took 8 years to produce, from 1994-2002 called ‘The Cremaster cycle’. It’s a combination of five feature length films which consist of different art methods. This piece of art primarily explored the cycle of creation.  ‘The Guardian’ described it as ‘"one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-grande cinema.”