Absolute Wilson

Robert Wilson s aesthetics have shaped the international theater and opera scene for 40 years. At the same time, Wilson made a name for himself as an installation artist. Influenced by famous choreographers such as George Balanchine , Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham and by the abstract realism of the 50s, he developed his unmistakable visual language. Katharina Otto-Bernstein accompanied him for
five years with her camera. It is not just the artist and his famous productions such as " Einstein on the Beach " (1976) and " The CIVIL warS“(1983) in the center of her interest, for the first time Robert Wilson also reveals something personal in front of the camera. He tells of his youth in Waco, Texas, and that he was learning and language impaired, as well as other difficulties that he had to overcome in his extraordinary life. In addition to Wilson's sister Suzanne, numerous contemporary witnesses, colleagues and companions also have their say: the musician David Byrne , the publicist Susan Sontag , the composer Philip Glass , the opera singer Jessye Norman, the former director of the Paris Opera, Charles Fabius, and many others. This creates the complex portrait of this controversial all-round genius and his unconventional way of working: "Sometimes you tell yourself: What should I do next? Then you try to think of the right thing. But often you should rather think: what is the wrong thing that I shouldn't do? And then do that. "