Episode 2: Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth at the Royal Academy. Discussed by Laura Lennard, Caz Murray & Vikki Kosmalska

The RA’s incredibly immersive exhibition brings together works by the iconic Renaissance Man, Michelangelo, and the Modern video artist, Bill Viola. 

In an extraordinary mash up of mediums, we see incredibly worked, personal, 15th century draughtsmanship on the one hand, and highly staged, epic, contemporary videography on the other. 

Does this juxtaposition open up an interesting dialogue? Or are the artists doomed to partake in a predetermined, and largely limiting contest of skill? 

Both artists undoubtedly grapple with weighty concerns: human mortality, the inevitability of death, rebirth. We explore our own personal reactions to these universal themes and assess what has been gained or lost from this artistic pairing. 

In lighter news, we play dead artist blind date, and as always loot our favourite works from the exhibition for our imaginary collections. 

Thank you to the incredible Nat Witts for our jingle, and to the brilliant Jonny Lennard for our editing.