Robert Wilson (born October 4, 1941) is an American experimental theater stage director and playwright who has been described by the media as "[America]'s – or even the world's – foremost avant-garde 'theater artist. Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and lighting designer. He is best known for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the Beach, and with numerous other artists, including Heiner Müller, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Gavin Bryars, Rufus Wainwright, Marina Abramovic, Willem Dafoe, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Darryl Pinckney and Lady Gaga.