Leave it to Robert Wilson to introduce an innovative alternative to the step-and-repeats that clutter so many red carpets with logos. The Watermill Center, Wilson's artistic laboratory in the Hamptons, is known for incorporating unusual elements into its annual benefits, and this year the night began with a live-action take on the logo-filled photo backdrop, which had actors in frog costumes holding signs with sponsors' names.
The night's theme was "VOOM Zoo," inspired by Wilson's latest work of giant video portraits, featuring famous faces such as Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr. as well as animals including a black panther, a horned frog, and a snow owl. The panther was displayed on a 103-inch Panasonic screen in the woods, along with a variety of installations from the center's artists in residence. The center also flew in drummers from the Youth Theater of Taipei, who performed during the cocktail hour for the 900 guests, who included a mix of names including Julia Stiles, Bill Paxton, and Lisa de Kooning.Dinner was announced with a performance by burlesque star Dita von Teese, the subject of one of Wilson's video portraits. The family-style meal included miso-glazed black cod, snow pea salad, and chilled beef tenderloin with reggiano and passed desserts like strawberry hibiscus soup and mini apricot almond cakes.
Auctioneer Simon de Pury led a live auction of artwork by such notables as Wilson, Nan Goldin, and Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as a 2008 Lexus LS hybrid luxury sedan.
To cap it all off, Bartenev also conceived and designed a pageant of animal characters, who paraded through the dinner tent in outlandish costumes representing a white polar giraffe, a playboy lion, a hungry eagle, and a frog bank, among others. DJs Larry Tee and Andrew Andrew provided the post-pageant entertainment.
Among the challenges of putting together the event, Theis said, was the breadth of the people involved: "We have 80 artists from 26 nations working with Robert Wilson, so it's a lot to collaborate." The night's sponsors included LVMH, Lexus, Visionaire, VOOM HD Networks, and Ikepod Timepieces by Mark Newson.
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Photo: Patrick McMullan