January 21–April 29, 2012, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Raft (2004) is a profound, emotionally riveting video installation. The artist, Bill Viola, says that it is a “metaphor for today’s world.” A group of strangers experience unexpected disaster. Will they survive? Will they help each other? Will they be transformed?

In the video, urban dwellers from all walks of life—young, old, black, white, Hispanic and Asian—gather as if waiting for a train or bus to arrive. An older woman wearing a yellow jacket searches inside her handbag. A well-attired woman in a white suit appears affluent. People read, look bored or are simply absorbed in their thoughts. As is characteristic in urban environments, each person maintains a psychological distance, though all are in close physical proximity. A reserved nod of the head serves as sufficient greeting, if a greeting occurs at all. One exception occurs. A South Asian woman in red and blue Punjabi dress weaves through the crowd, greets another woman, takes her hand, and smiles broadly. A middle-aged man moves assertively through the crowd and takes the most advantageous position. Several people meet his action with looks of disapproval. Then suddenly, torrents of water hit the group of people from both sides. Men on the periphery attempt to resist the deluge, people huddle and struggle, and succumb to the explosive force of the water, falling to the ground as the flood rages on. Facial expressions and contorted limbs convey terror and anguish. The elderly woman in the yellow jacket is among the first to fall, lying prostrate and unmoving.

Eventually, the water subsides, and ever so slowly, people begin to regain composure. Some rise and comfort others. People weep. Two women, kneeling and with their hands on each others’ shoulders, look deeply into each others’ eyes and then embrace. Several individuals reach for the elderly woman, gently trying to revive her. She awakens. The gestures of comfort, the embrace and the survival of the elderly woman suggest hope.

From beginning to end, a range of human emotion is expressed—boredom, disinterest, curiosity, disapproval, shock, fear, suffering, recovery, compassion and even love.

Viola records the drama with high-speed film and the narrative unfolds through extreme slow motion. The dream-like effects are startling. We discern facial expressions and bodily gestures and apprehend subtleties of emotion—like looking into the soul—that would go unnoticed in real time. Like all of Viola’s internationally renowned work, The Raft resonates with universal ideas about the human spirit, life and death. Viola would like his art to be transformative. He says it is “for cultivating knowledge of how to be in the world…for developing a deeper understanding.”

This exhibition was supported by the Campbell Calvin Fund and Elizabeth C. Bonner Charitable Trust for exhibitions and the Rheta A. Sosland Fund.