Robert Wilson's 14 Stations explores the Passion of Christ; take a virtual glimpse
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| Robert Wilson's dynamic interpretation of the Passion of Christ, with its intriguing combination of sculpture, light & sound, opened at MASS MoCA on December 9.
The massive work, called "14 Stations" explores the Passion of Christ - a powerful religious icon. Visitors actually walk through the stations rather than simply look at them, beginning with Jesus being sentenced to death and ending with his resurrection.
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In Wilson's interpretation, visitors enter a building into a deep shaft where they hear the sound of gurgling liquid along with quotes from Pilate's judgement.
The surreal experience continues, with Jesus taking the cross on his shoulders - shown as a chunk of rock dangling from the ceiling and on the floor a red, opened hand.
The remaining stations are equally striking, with the "weeping women" depicted as older women doing needlework, and Jesus' death on the cross shown as a pack of red, hungry wolves.
"I always work with a horizontal line, which stands for time, and a vertical line, which, for me, always means space," Wilson says. "This is something personal; the timeline goes towards earth or heaven. Time and space are two crossing lines, a structure that forms the architecture of everything."
Wilson, an American born artist, created the work in conjunction with the Passion Play 2000 in Germany, where it was originally an outdoor work.
"14 Stations" is accompanied by a group of Wilson's drawings, which present several of his theatrical works, a small group of photographs and sketches that document the genesis of "14 Stations" and a group of chairs designed by Wilson.
Born in Waco, Texas, Robert Wilson studied at the University of Texas and Brooklyn's Pratt Institute. He is the recipient of two Rockefeller and two Guggenheim fellowships, Wilson has received numerous awards and in 1986 was the sole nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the CIVIL wars.
