Saturday evening at RMIT's Storey Hall. A capacity crowd awaits the revered video artist for his only public appearance in Australia. A late start, and successive introductions of introducers, heightens our expectations. Enthusiasm doesn't register well with a Melbourne audience.
Audience participation is our principle phobia.
This is unfortunate, as Viola proceeded to deliver a most generous lecture about the profound concerns that underlie his art. Anyone more positively disposed is welcome to read a coherent artistic project between the lines. The first contradiction concerned technology. Viola's talk began with the miraculous advance of the camera in our time. And thanks to portable video cameras, artists are now able to give expression to their creativity that is relevant to our time.