The Watermill Center Presents “Tabula Rasa”

There is no denying the extraordinary visual impact of Robert Wilson’s theatrical art. You need only look at the stunning tableau’s in the phantasmagorical forest that surrounds and defines The Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation’s summer benefit. They are created by artists who flock to Wilson’s Artist in Residence and Summer Programs at the Watermill Center he created to nurture future generations in the type of interdisciplinary art he pioneered. Each year, the Foundation’s 10+ acres come to life with extraordinary theatrical and visual compositions in the spirit of the master. This year, the 26th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit & Auction was dubbed Tabula Rasa. And true to its name, I drew some blanks — and some original thoughts — as I looked for conceptual meanings behind the art.