This year’s Watermill Center Benefit, titled “Circus of Stillness: The Power over Wild Beasts,” offered performance art and installations from 24 artists around the institution’s wooden campus and a wide mix of celebrity guests such as Rufus Wainwright, Brooke Shields, and Roger Waters. The band Barr Shea Dahl jammed in a tiny cottage as artist Brian O’Mahoney brooded on a nearby bench. Khesrau Behroz was a vision in aluminum foil as artificial rain fell and the sun started to go down. Luke Smithers showed impressive concentration while staring at a white wall with a dead fish hanging around his neck back. Sierra Casady of CocoRosie delivered an energetic performance and dance with the help of backing performers and dancers as attendees bid on items in the silent auction. Robert Wilson, Watermill’s leader, chatted with Bill Cunningham, who despite a knee injury was actively photographing the scene. Below, a look around the benefit.
ALL PHOTOS: KATHERINE MCMAHON
01
Ann Mirjam Vaikla’s Silencium at the Watermill Center benefit.
Mette Sterre’s Sweet Beans Constrictors. at the Watermill Center benefit.
Cleon Peterson’s Marchers at the Watermill Center benefit.
Barrsheadahl’s Live Performance at the Watermill Center benefit.
Brian O'Mahoney’s Todo el Mundo es Kitch at the Watermill Center benefit.
Radames Figueroa’s Bed Paintings at the Watermill Center benefit.
Khesrau Behroz’s Is it because I lied when I was 17? at the Watermill Center benefit.
Inga Aleknaviciute’s White Bears at the Watermill Center benefit.
Oree Holban’s The Wholesome Performer in the Woods at the Watermill Center benefit.
Jokubas Nosovas’ Canvas Dance at the Watermill Center benefit.
Matty Davis’ Amidst Endless Repetition at the Watermill Center benefit.
Joanna Rodriguez-Noyola’s Sleep Tight at the Watermill Center benefit.
Adriana Dinelescu’s Nature's Hot Spot at the Watermill Center benefit.
Luke Smithers’ Boy with Fish at the Watermill Center benefit.
Sierra Casady of Coco Rosie with performances by Mairana Kavallieratos, Maria Papadopoulou, Dimitri Kleioris, Paul Girard, Marc Crousillat, and Manuel Rueda at the Watermill Center benefit.
Collector Maja Hoffman at the Watermill Center benefit.
Christophe de Menil and Robert Wilson at the Watermill Center benefit.
Mette Sterre’s Altra Motion Quartz at the Watermill Center benefit.
Robert Wilson and Bill Cunningham.