On July 25, Mother Nature offered a temporary respite from the month’s oppressive heat in time for the Watermill Center’s benefit, one of the East End’s top social events of the summer. Now in its 22nd year, the always-sold-out soiree, which this year raised more than $1.9 million for the arts center’s year-round residency and education programs, offered a few twists and turns for guests—the least of which was how best to dress for the “Circus of Stillness: the Power Over Wild Beasts” theme, a reference to the poet Ezra Pound.
As with any massive undertaking, let alone one that involves 24 art installations and an audience of 1,300 guests, it took a village. Helping oversee production and execution of the concept and design set forth by founder Robert Wilson was an intimate team that included event director Elise Herget; event manager Erin Wainwright; installation curator Noah Khoshbin; production supervisor Charlie Otte; and technical director Daniel Von Behr.
As the attendees, which included Christophe de Menil, Nicole Miller, Rufus Wainwright, Brooke Shields, John Varvatos, Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, arrived, they were motioned not to pass through the entrance that had been used for nearly the past two decades. Rather, they were guided to a new pathway directly adjacent, where an entirely different experience awaited them.
Once past Mette Sterre’s “Pink Eye Cray Cray (once it pops it will stop)” installation featuring human figures adorned in balls and balloons, guests walked, single file, through a narrow canopy of bamboo trees past Ann Mirjam Vaikla’s “Silencium” installation, which boasted masked figures wielding sledgehammers against monoliths. Once they emerged, a phalanx of servers with Casamigo tequila cocktails greeted them at a grand set of spacious steps. From there, it was an onward march past the Africa House and into the woods, where, in every corner, lay another grandiose form of artistic expression: everything from Cleon Peterson’s 10-foot-tall red wooden “Marchers” that loomed large at the event’s entrance and exit and Oree Holban’s “The Wholesome Performer in the Woods” band to Jokubas Nosovas’s “Canvas Dance” that featured the artist voguing as human paintbrush-cum-break-dancer and an original performance by Sierra Casady of the band CocoRosie.
If guests felt a bit turned around with this year’s carnival-like program, that was precisely the intention of organizers. “Bob [Wilson] gave a lot of thought to the path this year … the course was completely flipped over and turned around on itself as the usual flow of traffic went in a complete opposite direction,” said Bill Wagner, the center’s managing director, of the decision to fully utilize the center’s new acreage, acquired three years ago. “One of the challenges was how to figure out where the end point was and where the exit would be so that people could stream out into the tent area in the most balanced and comfortable way.”
In the past, the center’s courtyard, which housed the silent auction and cocktail party, were the first things guests saw when they entered through the main building’s rock-festooned walkway. This year, that area was the last stop on the voyage through the 8.5-acre grounds chock full of site-specific installations and live performances.
“This year we tried to implement some nice and unique new changes in part due to the fact that we had planted and designed out beautiful garden beds on that side of the property that were full of color and texture,” said Wagner. “Bob wanted to enter through that entrance to see the newly designed garden bed and, also, the way the trails meandered, it was a more efficient way to get guests into the woods. The other approach required going through a more challenging entrance with rock bed.”
This year’s change in format also allowed first-time caterer Great Performances to introduce new elements. While in past years, cocktails were served on the guided walk through the woods surrounding the premises, allowing guests to enjoy the art pieces with drinks in the hand, this year, according to Shaun Roberts, event director at Great Performances, the decision was made to only pass drinks during initial arrivals and serve passed foods once the installations opened up to the main courtyard. The reasoning was one part practical—the narrow pathways didn’t lend themselves to servers lining them—and two parts artistic—it simply wouldn’t look good to have trays with drinks dotting an artistic landscape.
Instead, well-staffed bars (Great Performances bussed in approximately 130 servers) were complemented by a new, and food-heavy, courtyard—a "Summer’s Savory Bazaar"—that, for the first time, allowed guests to help themselves to foods that fit in the palm of the hand as hors d'oeuvres were also passed. “We wanted to provide more food options for those just attending cocktails,” said Roberts, whose team started setting up on the day prior. “We chose the tartines, for example, to be an open-face food that exposed the beauty of the ingredients. Our emphasis was on showcasing the really great seasonal top-quality produce available.”
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars returned as a corporate sponsor of the fund-raiser and this time the luxury British automaker showcased its “Inspired by Fashion” edition Wraith coupe alongside a model in repose. Event sponsor and fine jewelry brand Plukka even opened a pop-up boutique in nearby Southampton with a portion of proceeds benefiting the center.
For dinner, Great Performances looked to avoid creating a gimmicky menu. “We didn’t play into the event theme whatsoever,” Roberts noted. Instead, the decision was made to serve a “substantial, but not heavy” meal and let the vibrant hues of the fresh produce serve as a visual contrast to the otherwise neutral and subdued dinner tables. That translated to a grilled peach with poached lobster starter followed by a grilled broiled New York strip steak served with sweet corn, squash, and salsa verde. And as a way to refresh guests in the summer heat, desserts consisted of blood-orange sorbet cones, cucumber lime and pineapple ginger frozen fruit pops, chocolate pretzel caramel tartlets, and miniature ice cream cookie sandwiches.
As with years past, dinner also held additional artistic offerings. Collaborative installations by the contemporary circus ensemble Cirkus Cirkör featured a trip of short, rope-infused vignettes—the theme of which was evident in the simplistic centerpieces of balls of rope—in between the meal proceedings, capped off by a live auction with Simon de Pury as M.C.
![One of the night's most Instagrammed artworks, Adriana Dinulescu's 'Nature's Hot Spot' installation boasted a massive dress made of waxed paper and branches that wrapped around a tree with a lone performer placed inside the costume.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/20150725_ldo_4817.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Organizers relocated the main guest entrance to an adjacent driveway for the first time this year, and guests were signaled to enter past Mette Sterre's 'Pink Eye Cray Cray (once it pops it will stop)' installation. The artist's repetitious figures, which stood at the entrance to the grounds, were constructed from balls and balloons—meant to transform everyday objects into monster-like forms.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/20150725_ldo_7961.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![As guests made their way through the entranceway of bamboo, to their immediate right they found Ann Mirjam Vaikla's 'Silencium' installation: a performance in which masked figures in white cotton wielded sledgehammers against monoliths set in the woods. Periodically, the figures lit smoke bombs that were thrown into the monoliths. With each blow of the sledgehammer, the masked figures froze.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9799.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Returning tequila sponsor Casamigos had its three different marques—Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo—positioned along the main entranceway stairs. Waitstaff from Great Performances served a specialty cocktail called the Flora Rosa, made of Casamigos Blanco tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh almond syrup, fresh lime juice, and a splash of jasmine water.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9820.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Once past the main entrance steps and right before the pathway to the Africa House sat two installations as part of Mette Sterre's 'Sweet Beans Constrictors' artwork. Atop the landing, the Dutch artist created a pair of headpieces from coiled and tied tubing, representing dramatic forms of negative space in which performances sat and gazed at guests. Piles of fruit, in keeping with the theme, were featured as a complement.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9844.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![As guests made their way into the center's Africa House, they were met with the live performance band Barrsheadahl, a New York-based noise supergroup known for its explosive brand of music. The band members featured in the house included Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Kevin Shea (drums), and Tim Dahl (bass).](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9849.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Puerto Rican artist Radames (Juni) Figueroa's 'Bed Paintings' installation featured a row of young men asleep in beds along the path of the forest, the artist's figure draped over their bodies (a tropical canvas as bed sheet). Piles of tropical fruit, meanwhile, studded the forest floor.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9927.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Guests traversing their way through the forest of art installations all passed through a series of graphic fluorescent arches by Mariano Marquez, Dom Bouffard, and Rui Monteiro. Beyond being the most modern element of all the artworks, the arches were also filled with a multichannel sound installation.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/20150725_kru_1031_2.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Flanking the fluorescent arches down a narrow pathway in the forest was Inga Aleknavičiute's 'White Bears' installation: two towering polar bears that marked the beginning and end of the Watermill Center's back path, seeming to guard the sunset orchard behind. The first said 'Hello' and the last, 'Goodbye.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9947.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![One of two installations set further back from the main trail, Joanna Rodriguez-Noyola's 'Sleep Tight' artwork featured a sleeping, glittering female figure resting atop a platform, with the threat of an Indonesian stone pillar hovering atop her head.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9955.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Continuing the theme of sleep and fruit throughout the event was Shay Arick's 'Given' installation, in which the Israeli sculptor produced a tableaux of a man and a woman in an embrace—a pieta in lurid silver—inside a large red apple.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_9972.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Within the main central courtyard of the center, where guests converged following their walkthrough of the art installations in the forest, was Jack Pavlik's 'Zero Sum Sitting' artwork. The United States artist presented a series of kinetic steel sculptures—folding chairs attached to which performers interacted on the west terrace.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dscf3709.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![While in the past guests entered through the main building and out onto the courtyard, this year the edifice served purely as a canvas for art. Gary Garay's 'Paleta Wall' had the western façade of the building plastered with his posters—images of hands holding ice pops in the shapes of 40-ounce bottles, Westside hands, Amor Pura (Pure Love), a cassette, and Aztec head.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_0009.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Rolls-Royce returned for the second year as a corporate sponsor of the benefit, this time bringing to the Hamptons its special 'Inspired by Fashion' edition Wraith coupe. While the model that rested inside the vehicle was not technically part of the center's installation of artworks, her repose was meant to blend into the scene as an organic inspiration.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_0049.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Great Performances was enlisted as a new Watermill Center vendor partner, providing all the catering. Also new was the addition of a 'Summer's Savory Bazaar' of foods designed to provide more options for the more than 650 cocktail attendees. The culinary array included iceberg wedges with Parmesan frico and lardon on the side.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_0029.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![To allow guests to roam the grounds while indulging in the food prepared by Great Performances, all the self-serve dishes were designed to be hand-held and didn't even necessarily require plates. 'We kept it fun and playful, as noted by the fried chicken served in savory waffle cones,' said Shaun Roberts, event director at Great Performances. 'It was approachable food done in a different way.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_0038.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![The performances of Cirkus Cirkör frequently involve the use of string and rope; coiled on each of the simple pale green dinner table setups as centerpieces were balls of rope, with loose ends winding down the center of the tables. During dinner, a series of short circus vignettes were performed.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/dgb_0076.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![For the additional 650 guests who stayed for dinner, the meal was an explosion of color. 'Reds, yellows, greens … hearty and sturdy but fresh ingredients,' said Roberts of Great Performances. The first course of grilled peach was served with mache and poached lobster. 'The dinner [decor] palette was neutral, so the foods popped in color,' Roberts added. 'The food was substantial without being heavy.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/0_63573498761498875033050017_41_watermill_20150725_sfz_331.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![The dinner portion of the evening featured collaborative installations by members of the contemporary circus ensemble, Cirkus Cirkör, including selections from 'Knitting Peace'—a piece performed at the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Oslo in 2012. Members of Cirkus Cirkör were outfitted in jewelry by the evening's lead sponsor, Plukka. A live auction conducted by auctioneer Simon de Pury followed.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/circusofstillnessb.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Three performance segments were pre-set in the dinner tent. From aerial flying to gymnastics to a final segment that involved a violinist on a rope apparatus, it all made for art-meets-entertainment value for the dinner guests, all of whom helped raise more than $1.9 million for the center.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/08/circusofstillness.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)