Trophée des Arts 2009 Robert Wilson

The New York Times described Robert Wilson as “a towering figure in the world of experimental theater.” Susan Sontag has said of Wilson’s work “it has the signature of a major artistic creation. I can’t think of any body of work as large or as influential.” Wilson’s works integrate a wide variety of artistic media, combining movement, dance, lighting, furniture design, sculpture, music, and text into a unified whole. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide— especially in France, where Wilson has been named “Commandeur des arts et des lettres” by the Minister of Culture.

Born in Waco, Texas, Wilson was educated The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin, a at the University of Texas and Brooklyn’s twelve-hour silent opera performed in 1973 Pratt Institute, where he took an interest in New York, Europe, and South America; in architecture and design. He studied and A Letter for Queen Victoria in Europe painting with George McNeil in Paris and and New York in 1974–1975. In 1976 Wilson later worked with the architect Paolo Solari joined with composer Philip Glass in in Arizona. Moving to New York City in the writing the landmark work Einstein on the mid-1960s, Wilson found himself drawn to Beach, which was presented at the Festival the work of pioneering choreographers d’Avignon and at New York’s Metropolitan George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Opera House, and has since been revived and Martha Graham, among others. By in two world tours in 1984 and 1992. 1968 he had gathered a group of artists known as The Byrd Hoffman School After Einstein, Wilson increasingly worked 1 of Byrds, and together they worked and with European theaters and opera houses. 1 performed in a loft building at 147 Spring His productions were frequently featured Street in lower Manhattan. In 1969 two at the Festival d’Automne in Paris, the Established in 1992, the Trophée des Arts is of Wilson’s major productions appeared Schaubühne in Berlin, the Thalia Theater awarded each year to a distinguished artist in New York City: The King of Spain at in Hamburg, and the Salzburg Festival, 2 or cultural icon who has exemplified FIAF’s the Anderson Theater, and The Life and among many other venues. At the mission of French-American friendship and Times of Sigmund Freud, which premiered Schaubühne he created Death Destruction cross-cultural exchange. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. & Detroit and Death Destruction & Detroit II; and at the Thalia he presented four In 1971 Wilson received international groundbreaking musical works, The Black acclaim for Deafman Glance, a silent “opera” Rider, Alice, Time Rocker, and POEtry. created in collaboration with Raymond Andrews, a talented deaf-mute boy whom Wilson had adopted. After the Paris premiere of the work, French Surrealist Louis Aragon wrote of Wilson, “he is what we, from whom Surrealism was born, dreamed would come 1 Robert Wilson demonstrating movement after us and go beyond us.” Wilson then technique during rehearsal for went on to present numerous acclaimed Symptômes, Warsaw, 2007 productions throughout the world, including 2 The Passion of Saint John, Paris, 2007 the seven-day play KA MOUNTain and 3 Deafman Glance, New York, 1970 3 4 GUARDenia Terrace in Shiraz, Iran in 1972; 4 Madame Butterfly, Paris, 1992

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As of today, Wilson has presented Wilson will return to the Théâtre de la Ville Wilson recently completed an entirely new and then traveled internationally to major Wilson’s awards and honors include two of a permanent facility was completed and premiered over 40 works in France in 2010 with The Threepenny Opera. production, based on an epic poem from institutions, and his installation of the Guggenheim Fellowship awards (1971 and in the summer of 2006, enabling the Byrd and has worked with every major institution Indonesia, entitled I La Galigo, which toured Guggenheim’s Giorgio Armani retrospective 1980), the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Hoffman Watermill Foundation to offer in Paris, including the Théâtre des Champs Over the last two decades Wilson has extensively and appeared at the Lincoln (2000) traveled to London, Rome, and Tokyo. award (1975), the nomination for the residencies, lectures and performances, Elysées (Medea, Great Day in the Morning), brought his specific sensibility to light, Center Festival in the summer of 2005. He Pulitzer Prize in Drama (1986), the Golden and educational programs throughout the Palais Garnier (Le Martyre de Saint space, and movement to the standard also continues to direct revivals of his most In 2007, Paula Cooper Gallery and Phillips Lion for sculpture from the Venice Biennale the year. Sébastien, Pelléas et Mélisande, The dramatic and operatic repertoire. celebrated productions, including The de Pury & Co in New York held exhibitions (1993), the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize Temptation of Saint Anthony), the Opéra He has designed and directed operas Black Rider in London, San Francisco, and of his most recent artistic venture, the for lifetime achievement (1996), the Premio Bastille (La Nuit d’Avant le Jour, The Magic at houses such as La Scala in Milan, the Sydney, Australia, The Temptation of Saint VOOM Portraits. Subjects of this series of Europa award from Taormina Arte (1997), Flute, Madame Butterfly, Die Frau ohne Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Anthony in New York and Barcelona, Erwartung loops in high definition video include Brad election to the American Academy of Arts Schatten), the Odéon - Théâtre de l’Europe Opéra Bastille in Paris, the Zürich Opera, in Berlin, Madame Butterfly at the Bolshoi Pitt, Gao Xingjian, Winona Ryder, Jeanne and Letters (2000), and the National Design (Orlando, Woyzeck, The Temptation of the Hamburg State Opera, the Lyric Opera Opera in Moscow, and Wagner’s The Ring Moreau, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Renée Fleming, Award for lifetime achievement (2001). Saint Anthony), the Comédie Française of Chicago, and the Houston Grand Opera. at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. as well as various animals. The works have (Les Fables), the Théâtre du Châtelet Wilson has collaborated with a number been shown in New York, Los Angeles, Since the early 1990s, Robert Wilson has held (The Black Rider: The Casting of Magic of internationally acclaimed artists, writers, While known for creating highly acclaimed Naples, Moscow, Singapore, Graz, Milan, workshops for students and experienced 1 Einstein on the Beach, Bullets, Oedipus Rex, Orphée et Euridice, and musicians. He worked closely with theatrical pieces, Wilson’s work is firmly rooted and will continue to tour internationally creative professionals from around the Festival d’Avignon, 1976 Winterreise, Der Ring des Nibelungen, the late German playwright Heiner Müller, in the fine arts. His drawings, paintings, and over the next years. His drawings, prints, world at the International Summer Arts 2 Les Fables, Paris, 2004 The Passion of Saint John), and the Théâtre singer/song-writer Tom Waits, David Byrne, sculptures have been presented around the videos, and sculpture are held in private Program at the Watermill Center in eastern 3 Les Fables, Paris, 2004 de la Ville, where Wilson premiered poet Allen Ginsberg, performance artist world in hundreds of solo and group showings. collections and museums throughout Long Island—an interdisciplinary laboratory the CIVIL wars: a tree is best measured Laurie Anderson, writer Susan Sontag, His extraordinary tribute to Isamu Noguchi the world. He is represented by the Paula for the arts and humanities. Following a Next Page when it is down Rotterdam Section in 1983. and noted opera singer Jessye Norman. has been shown at Vitra Museum in Germany, Cooper Gallery in New York City. successful capital campaign, construction Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, Berlin, 1992

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