There is nothing more boring than a conference speaker.

1.«There is nothing more boring than a conference speaker.»

2. «This was not a boring conference. Mr. Wilson imposed silence and darkness and then, after a few introspective moments said it is up to the artist to ask questions. Artists have to ask questions rather than giving answers.»

3. «I was born in Waco, a little village in Texas where there were no theatres, art galleries or museums. Later on I moved to New York and started going to the theatre, art galleries and museums. I went to Broadway and also to the Opera but did not enjoy that kind of work. It was too complex and predictable. Actors would insist too much on particular ideas. I was then introduced to the choreography of Balanchine. I loved it then and I still do today. Because it was so different from Broadway and the Opera. It provided space for thought and reflection both on mental and virtual levels.»

4. «Since the very beginning that the audience is captured by Wilson's capacity to communicate. This is not unrelated to the intimate and confessional nature of Wilson's tone in what can be seen as a journey into his strange world.»

5. «Apart from Balanchine, Robert Wilson draws his inspiration from other sources such as John Cage and Merce Cunningham. But there are other references that are very dear to Robert Wilson. It is the case of Raymond Andrews, a talented boy who is deaf and dumb and was adopted by Robert Wilson. In Convent do Beato, Robert Wilson proved his fascination for the 13 year old boy by telling stories about a child who did not know any words and communicated through visual signs.»

6. «In 1971, in collaboration with Raymond, Wilson created a silent opera, Deafman Glance. Christopher Knowles was a young man who had language problems and a very particular structure of thinking. He taught Wilson the importance of words and the meaninglessness of their meaning. 'Certainly, my work has got meaning. However, not just one meaning'. Together with Christopher, Wilson wrote A Letter for Queen Victoria, his first work with text.

7. «Wilson knows how to dominate and control the audience according to his wishes. Aware of the impression caused by himself on stage, he gesticulates and makes faces, impersonating all the characters that are part of his universe. Stories that were beyond belief pass at the speed of light before an audience that is both amused and fascinated.»

 8. «In his view, time is a vertical line that originates in the centre of the Earth stretching to the sky. Space is an horizontal line  that goes through each one of us. Body, not the brain, is the centre of everything that exists. 'My work starts with a single gesture', he says. 'No one can start anything', it is the artists that are part of space and time, that feel their bodies, eyes, ears, their relationships with one another. 'That is what I try to convey in Drama'. So that shows do not become boring conferences turning them into a dialogue with an audience instead.»

 9. «In a rather subliminal way, Robert Wilson continued to show transparencies that exemplified various stages in his career. Some he would complement with words, others he would not comment on.»

10.«Think with your body because that is where you can find truth and above all, do nor act.»

11. «At the end someone wanted to know if Wilson had been acting: 'Of course', he replied. I am on a stage and that changes my attitude. Have you noticed how we look ridiculous when we want to seem natural?»

Text made with various quotations:
Robert Wilson: 1. 3. 10
Maria João Caetano, Diário de Notícias, 14/09/1999: 2.6.8.11.
Marta Lisboa, Público, 14/09/1999: 4. 7. 9
Semanário, 17/09/1999: 5