Ancient of Days (1982)

Ancient of Days is a remarkable series of "canons and fugues for video" that comprises Viola's most sophisticated structural and metaphorical explorations of time. Mathematical notations of precise time-code editing were applied to construct illustrations of temporal symmetry, duality and transposition — time-based equivalents of musical compositional principles such as counterpoint and serialism. Astonishing temporal interventions — a 180-degree pan gazing downward on a New York City street that progresses from day to night, an image of Mount Rainier in which the foreground and background unfold in different time planes — unfold as symbolic transformations of natural and urban landscapes.

Released Oct. 12, 1982 12 min None+

Genres: Documentary, Short

Keywords: mdblist.imdb-short, imdb.mountain, imdb.experimental-short, imdb.sense-of-time

Production Companies: National Endowment For The Arts, New York State Council on the Arts

Country: United States
Production Country: United States
Languages: English