有「錄像時代的林布蘭」之稱的維歐拉,於影像作品中多次參照並轉化古典素材,也因為融合古典與當代的影像特質,在當代錄像藝術裡展現出獨特的視域。他擅於操作不同影音技術,使傳統西方繪畫特有的畫面呈現形制、藝術史中曾經描繪的聖經和歷史寓言、或者反映傳統西方思想的作品結構得以連結當代的影音視像,呈現出多重的影像文本。本文觀察維歐拉轉用到古典素材的幾種影像主題,並進一步分析錄像媒材在影像身體、形制和敘事等面向的操作,一方面關注過往藝術與當代創作之間的聯繫,同時也探討藝術家對古典素材進行了何種修正。透過維歐拉作品中古典與當代交會的所在,轉移向來匯集在其影音技術上的注意力,或者改變存在攝錄影像與技術之間必然的論證關係,進而對影像的表達提出更多思考。
Bill Viola, who is honored with "Rembrandt of the video age", frequently refers and transforms the classic motif, exhibiting the unique vision in contemporary video arts due to his image characteristics fused with classic and contemporary. He is good at operations of the distinct video techniques, resulting in multiple video documents with the pictures describing Bible stories and history parables that only exist in the traditional western paintings or the contemporary-video-connected structures reflecting the traditional ideas in the west. In this thesis, the author observes Bill Viola’s several topics in video containing the transformed classic motif, and further analyzes the operations of video medium in body image, formation, and narrative. She also takes care of the connection between the arts from the past and the creative works of the contemporary, and discusses what kind of correction the artists have made to the classic motif.