The Unspeakable Art of Bill Viola

"An elegant little book, written with both genuine appreciation and critical insight. Bernier opens up Viola's fascinating ouevre, while showing both that theology can be a valuable tool for the art critic and that art can be an important locus."

--Maria Poggi Johnson, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA



"As we rethink the strange (and estranged) place of religion in the discourses of modern and contemporary art, this is the kind of study we are much in need of. Ronald Bernier's book establishes a rich and well-informed theological framework for questioning and interpreting Bill Viola's work. In fact, the implicit argument of this volume is that until we allow such a framework to shape our critical method, our understanding of Viola's work will remain unacceptably flat."

--Jonathan A. Anderson, Biola University, La Mirada, CA



"Bernier's elegantly spare yet graciously eloquent voice perfectly conveys the 'posture of openness and attentiveness' he ascribes to his subject confronted with the 'beckoning' call of a God who just might be there."

--Rachel Hostetter Smith, Taylor University, Upland, IN



"Ron Bernier's inquiry into Bill Viola's concern with the spiritual and its cultural manifestations is a timely speculation on the place of the sacred in contemporary visual culture. Reassessing the 'secularization theory of modernity,' Bernier will challenge and stimulate all readers with his theologically and theoretically sophisticated exploration of a figure who has exerted an inestimable influence on current art practices."

--Cordula Grewe, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA