Robert Wilson

“It has the signature of a major artistic creation. I can’t think of any body of work as large or as influential” (Susan Sontag)

Biography

• Born in Waco Texas• Educated at Brooklyn's Pratt institute – interest

in architecture/design• Studied painting – later working with architect

Paolo Solari• Moved to New York- drawn to work of

choreographers including Martha Graham • 1968- The Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds-

performed in Lower Manhattan

Robert Wilson Institutes

• Watermill Centre- Founded in 1922, fosters research in the arts of the stage.

• Transcending age/experience / religious , social and cultural backgrounds• Different genres and art forms – break with traditional forms of

representations

• The Byrd Hoffman Foundation- young artists for opportunities for personal growth, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration

• The foundation includes workshops, residencies at Watermill Centre • Holds the Robert Wilson Archive – drawings, text, sculpture, artefacts

Performing Arts Work

• 1969- The King Of Spain/Life And Times Of Sigmund Freud

• 1971- Deafman Glance- based on a talented deaf boy Wilson adopted

• 1973- The Life and Times Of Joseph Stalin• 1974-5- A Letter for Queen Victoria • 1976- Einstein On The Beach

Work in European Theatres/Opera Houses

• Featured at Festival dAutomme• Create Death Destruction and Detroit (1979)• Thalia- 4 huge musical works:• The Black Rider (1991)• Alice (1992)• Time Rocker (1996)• POEtry (2000)

CIVIL wars (1980’s)

• Multinational epic • In collaboration wit international group of

artists, centrepiece of the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival

• Individual parts in USA/Japan

Operas/Adaptations Of Works/Collaborations

• Operas- designed and directed- The Hamburg State Opera, Salome(Millan, 1987), Gluck’s Aceste (Brussels, 2004) and L’incoronaozine di Poppea (2014- , Millan, Paris

• Adaptations- Isben (When We Were Dead Awaken, 1991),, Samuel Beckett (Happy Days, Luxemburg, 2008), Krapps Last Tape (Spoleto, 2009) and Homer (Odyssey (Athens, 2012)

• Collaborations- With : Heiner Muller (Cologne section of CIVIL warS (1984), Davd Bryne (Knee Plays from CIVIL warS , Laurie Anderson (Europides), Jesseye Norman (Great Day In The Morning (Paris, 1982)

Visual Arts

• Wilson’s drawings/paintings/sculptures- in London’s Clink Street Vaults (1995), The Centre Georges Pommidou in Paris (1991), Norfolk and Norwich Festival (2012)

• Extraordinary tribute to Isamu Noguchi • 2004- Video Portraits- HD words on subjects including

Wionna Ryder, Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Junior. • Variety of animals – a porcupine etc. • Held in private collections and museums throughout the

world – including the Metropolitan Museum Of Arts , Menil Foundation Collection, Houston

Examples of Video Portraits

Awards and Honours

• Two Hughes Design awards for A Letter To Queen Victoria (1975)

• The Golden Lion award for Sculpture of the Venice Biennale for Memory/Loss (1993)

• Several Lifetime Achievement Awards- Institute Honour from The American Institute of Architects , and Rose d’Oro, Palermo (2007)

• The Lion of The Performing Arts , “a towering figure in the world of experimental theatre and an explorer in the uses of time and space on stage” (The New York Times)

Artistic Inspiration

• Minimal movement, striking compositions, blending with traditional surroundings, no beginning or end

• Photographical quality-can approach at any time • Wilson referenced well known people in his

work ; incorporating sound images too – to reflect society we live in

• (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJFHi4qEZSE)

Review's of Productions Showcasing Wilson’s Styles

• Einstein On The Beach• airing Einstein with the Beach ironically embodies the genius of Einstein: that is, how

Einstein is a character who transcends the traditional symbols and rules of western, America education— school, the lab, formal settings)— and the beach is a perfect setting, one stereotypically atypical of a genius (Einstein’s childhood was stereotypically atypical of a genius

• Walking • a slow three-hour walk through five architectural and sound installations – intersects with

the landscape of Norfolk, in which it is set. Beyond the 70-year-old American's first act lies the real remains of an Iron Age fort. Ancient rituals are written into the earth here.

• Krapps Last Tape • his face a silent scream. All his gestures are writ large; this could almost be archive footage

from a silent movie

• “Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter- empowered by one’s sense of self-discovery

Links to his work

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIYFGkKZyYs

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM5ela0LBl4

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ih4GddMc4