Robert Wilson SCREENINGS @ Anthology Film Archives: ROBERT WILSON in Retrospect_End of May TBD

Join the Segal Center to discover fragments of the multiverse of Robert Wilson (1941-2025) with screenings of documentaries, productions, videos, and rehearsals at Anthology Film Archives

Since the late 1960s, Robert Wilson‘s productions have decisively shaped the look of theater and opera. Through his signature use of light, his investigations into the structure of a simple movement, and the classical rigor of his scenic and furniture design, Wilson has continuously articulated the force and originality of his vision. Wilson’s close ties and collaborations with leading artists, writers, and musicians continue to fascinate audiences worldwide.

After being educated at the University of Texas and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, Wilson founded the New York‐based performance collective The Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds in the mid‐1960s, and developed his first signature works, including Deafman Glance (1970) and A Letter for Queen Victoria (1974‐1975). With Philip Glass he wrote the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach (1976).

Wilson’s artistic collaborators include many writers and musicians such as Heiner Müller, Tom Waits, Susan Sontag, Laurie Anderson, William Burroughs, Lou Reed and Jessye Norman. He has also left his imprint on masterworks such as Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Debussy’s Pelléas et Melisande, Brecht/Weill’s Threepenny Opera, Goethe’s Faust, Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables and Homer’s Odyssey.

Wilson’s drawings, paintings and sculptures have been presented around the world in hundreds of solo and group showings, and his works are held in private collections and museums throughout the world.

Wilson has been honored with numerous awards for excellence, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination, two Premio Ubu awards, the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale, and an Olivier Award. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the German Academy of the Arts. France pronounced him Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2003) and Officer of the Legion of Honor (2014). Germany awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit (2014). Wilson was the founder and Artistic Director of The Watermill Center, a laboratory for the Arts in Water Mill, New York.

Schedule to be announced (TBD)

Robert Wilson In Retrospect is an initiative of the Segal Theatre Center in collaboration with Tomek Smolarski and Anthology Film Archives.

Curated by Clifford Allen, Frank Hentschker and Tomek Smolarski with Jed Rapfogel.

For more info about the The Segal Center Film Festival on Theatre and Performance visit: https://www.thesegalcenter.org/film-festival

Special Thanks to Robert Wilson Foundation, Watermill Foundation, Noah Khoshbin, Christian Belka, Elise Herget, Paige Laino. Additional thanks to Gaurac Singh Nijjer, Jess Applebaum.