Ancient of Days
1979-81, 12:21 min, color, sound
Ancient of Days is a remarkable series of "canons and fugues for video" that comprises Viola's most sophisticated structural and
metaphorical explorations of time. Mathematical notations of precise
time-code editing were applied to construct illustrations of temporal
symmetry, duality and transposition — time-based equivalents of musical
compositional principles such as counterpoint and serialism. Astonishing
temporal interventions — a 180-degree pan gazing downward on a New York
City street that progresses from day to night, an image of Mount
Rainier in which the foreground and background unfold in different time
planes — unfold as symbolic transformations of natural and urban
landscapes.
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