Bill Viola: The Passions
The National Gallery, London 22 Oct. 2003 – 4 Jan. 2004

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LONDON, Dec 10, 2003/ FW/ --- The panel called Six Heads is the head of one man multiplied by six, each starting at the same expression yet each evolving into emotions varying from mirth, to horror, disdain, awe, sorrow, piety and resignation.

[Photo at left: Viola, Bill; Six Heads, 2000; Colour video on plasma display mounted on wall 102.1 x 61 x 8.9 cm; Bill Viola Studio, Long Beach, CA; © Bill Viola. James Cohan Gallery, New York. Photo: Fred Scruton]

At first glance, I thought of George Carlin, the comedian, who uses facial expressions explicitly in his stand up comic work sometimes with a razors edge.

At second glance I saw the face of a monk evolving into the faces imprinted upon my memory from paintings of the Baroque and Renaissance eras.

I was intrigued by Six Heads on many levels. It told a multitude of human stories written on the face of a single man.

In my work as a mannequin historian I have written about the evolution of facial expressions of display mannequins in the 20th century.

Their facial expressions are frozen in time reflecting the various eras in which they were created. They are sculpted to hold their emotions in for the most part with indifference to the consumer, their audience.

While there are some smiling and laughing mannequins, most are deadpan.

Mannequins are fiberglass human images, the Picture of Dorian Gray in 3D so to speak.

Viola takes the 3D Picture of Dorian Gray one step further expressed as a video painting of perpetual-emotion in motion.

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