A Few Hours in Watermill with Raymond Roussel

A Few Hours In Watermill With Raymond Roussel, a multi-media collaboration by Bryan Markovitz and a team of collaborators, traces the connections between Robert Wilson's secluded artistic laboratory and the labyrinthine writing of Raymond Roussel, the posthumously celebrated French writer of process-generated literature. Markovitz and his fellow Watermill Artists-in-Residence offer visitors an alternative visit to the Watermill Center.

This day-long summer solstice event marks the culmination of these artists' three seasonal visits to the Watermill site, providing guests with an opportunity to explore the group's interpretation of Roussel's eccentric and exacting universe. Inspired by the 20-course, five-hour, private meals that Roussel enjoyed daily, a selection of seasonal courses indicative of "la grande cuisine bourgeois" will be available for tasting in the staff courtyard. A variety of other activities will also be on the menu: visitors will be able to try on garments from a wardrobe of Roussel-inspired apparel, attend a workshop for replicating pieces from Robert Wilson's extensive collection of objects, take in vocal performances, view Rousselian film screenings and more.

Markovitz's artistic collaborators for this project include Elizabeth Adams, Amanda Boekelheide, Ryan Dohoney, Emcee C.M., Master of None, Huong Ngo, Julia Rich, and Chris Piuma. During their residency, the group had a number of opportunities to meet, create, and cook with members of the Watermill Staff and Southampton community, including Watermill's Community Board, students and parents from the Hayground School, and members of the Girl Scout Brownies of Suffolk County. They wish to thank them all for their collaboration and support.