A Study Of The Ritualization Of Robert Wilson Theatre Arts

Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde artist who is active on the international stage.In 1976,with the theatre work "Einstein on the Beach",he became widely known in the international theatre community and was known as the "Beacon of Experimental Theatre.”His "Wilsonian" cross-border or hybrid theatre work focusing on video,soundscape,and lighting,which integrates painting,dance,architecture,installation sculpture and other arts,is the mainstay of the leading post-dramatic theatre reform wave.It also makes the audience and even the theatre Critics fall into a surreal "dream theatre" explaining aphasia.Through the analysis of Wilson's theatre art works,this article finds out the features of ritualization in its formalist aesthetics,which echoes the retrospective flow of ritualized drama in the reform of theatre,and also implies which under the influence of the Cambridge School's ritual theory which reckons "drama originated in ritual",the mutual tracing of drama and ritual has its origins.Focusing on the ritualization research of Wilson's theatre art,this article discusses three aspects:the ritualized representation of the audiovisual elements of Wilson's theatre art,the ritualized internal structure of myth archetypes,and the motivated application of ritualized drama therapy.The introduction mainly expounds the background of the topic of the thesis from four aspects:firstly,the main creative periods and characteristics of Wilson's cross-border hybrid art and his theatre works are introduced from the individual characteristics of Wilson's art;secondly,the overall background characteristics of the transformation of the theatre are explained Wilsonian art is defined as the historical basis of the phenomenon in the post-dramatic theatre category.Thirdly,on the issue of ritualization of Wilson's theatre art,the trend of ritual tendencies in the transformation of theatre is clarified,the blending origin of ritual and drama as well as the interdisciplinary background of ritual anthropology and theatrical performance studies is discussed;finally,it summarizes the current status of domestic and foreign research on Wilson's theatre art,and summarizes the research methods and innovation of this thesis.Chapter I mainly illustrates and interprets the ritualized representation of Wilson's theatre art works,and specifically draws on the performance elements of Japanese Noh drama from his theatre art elements,such as the painted-face and the makeup face of alienation,and the whole mechanical body movement program.In the director's audiovisual aesthetics,the three-dimensional approach to the stage visual,sound,and lighting elements of the mysterious religious rituals constructed with formalism,and the audience's experience of the aesthetic sense of synesthesia and ritual are cut into three aspects,pointing out the ritualization in his works appearance.Chapter II from the perspective of mythical archetype criticism,which is closely related to the ritual,the "distant view" perspective of this criticism method is used to explain the profound manifestation of its internal ritualization from the content and structure of its works.Specifically,it separates the repeated image archetype fragments from its theatre art,and derives the hidden human ritual motif and structure,and then clarifies the value of the mythic archetype in its theatre.It points out that Wilson uses the original image and ritual structure and the related motif is an unconscious manifestation of its mythical intent.Chapter III begins with Wilson's theatrical practice as a therapist who introduces the drama therapy into his theatre art.It expounds the motivation for applying theatrical art as a theatre ritual therapy in terms of the pathological characteristics of Wilson's theatre art,traces the healing beginnings of ritual therapy.Pointing out that ritual therapy has evolved to performing activities that use modern theatre art as the "divine means"medium,and specifically combines theories and strategies such as embodiment communication,materialized projection,and gamified dredging in the practice of drama therapy corresponding body performance aesthetics,object installation space,and"Camp" artistic characteristics of Wilson's theatre art works are explained separately.Finally,from the aspect of human perceptual ways,the representative works of the theatre art with autistic aesthetics as salient features are pointed out.The application function and value significance of the ritual therapy hidden in its theatre art are demonstrated,and a new perspective to explain Wilson's theatre art as an applied practice is provided.