Some years ago, I was invited to speak in Houston, Texas. They said I was a founder of 'postmodern theatre'. So I said to my office, 'This is ridiculous for me to go and speak about postmodern theatre when I don't know what it means, but... they're paying me a lot of money, so I'll go.' Robert Wilson agofounderhouston share on social
If you take a Baroque commode and put a Baroque clock on top of it, maybe it is not so interesting as when you put a computer on top of it. Then you see both items in a new way. Robert Wilson baroqueclockcommode Change image and share on social
I think that opera in Europe is 30 years ahead of America. There is a broader range of material presented to the public. They value contemporary opera. Robert Wilson aheadamericabroad Change image and share on social
Everything in Wagner's work - the music, the acting, the staging - stemmed from the text. Everything served to interpret the text. Robert Wilson actinterpretmusic Change image and share on social
What interested me was dance - the way that it was constructed with time-space constructions, and that it was abstract. I always thought: 'Why couldn't theater be that way? Or an opera?' Robert Wilson abstractconstructconstruction Change image and share on social
The French, not the Americans, commissioned 'Einstein on the Beach.' Robert Wilson americanbeachcommission Change image and share on social
I did a masterclass at the Juilliard and asked the students, 'Can you stand?' 'Sure.' 'Can you walk?' 'Sure.' They couldn't. They had never really thought about it. Robert Wilson askjuilliardmasterclass Change image and share on social
Usually in theater, the visual repeats the verbal. The visual dwindles into decoration. But I think with my eyes. For me, the visual is not an afterthought, not an illustration of the text. If it says the same thing as the words, why look? The visual must be so compelling that a deaf man would sit though the performance fascinated. Robert Wilson afterthoughtcompeldeaf share on social
When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And I met an Afro-American woman who was a painter. I already had some idea of what I wanted to do in life, and one of the things that interested me was painting. Robert Wilson afroamericanfamily share on social