Nam June Paik 1932-2006
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: purple
Reply-To: "MCLUHAN-L : Marshall McLuhan Discussion List"
Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2006 00:02:23 -0500
To: MCLUHAN-L@listserv.utoronto.ca
Subject: [MCLUHAN-L] Paik Wake
It was an astounding event. Apparently he's bigger than McLuhan. South Korea is building a big museum dedicated to his oeuvre. The Smithsonian has a lot of his work on display.
All the avant-garde luminaries were there. Speeches were given by Yoko Ono, Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, Bill Viola, and yours truly (I told some MM/Paik stories). Telegrams from the President of Korea, the German culture czar, the Smithsonian, etc. His nephew was the best. Here's how he ended his talk:
"This is an interesting story I'll tell you. Aside from trying to keep him liquid, this is one of the most interesting things I did with him. In 1998, Nam June was invited to a state dinner at the Clinton White House, June of '98. If some of you remember, it's not that long ago, that was the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which had broken out earlier, in January or February. Nam June was going, and he asked if I would go with him. So I said, sure. I went with him. I wheeled him into the White House, and these gigantic Marines took over from there. Nam June was very amused, I think. He was having a great time, talking to all the people there. Then we got to the receiving line. Nam June decided to show respect, I think, to the president,Mrs. Clinton, and the other dignitaries there. He decided to get up from his wheelchair, get on his walker, and try to walk across the receiving line. Across the receiving line at the state dinner is the World's press. They're all there; I don't know how many, tens of cameras and video cameras, everything. So as Nam June is talking to President Clinton, and I'm standing right behind him as he's making some small talk to President Clinton, Nam June turns around and says to me: Ken, I think my pants are falling. True story here. And I said, What? My pants are falling! he says. I look down, and his pants are falling! They are completely down on the floor. And he has no underwear on! So I pick up his pants. I pull them up and I just hold them there. Now, Bill Clinton is such a cool president he still continued to have small talk with my uncle. I think they were talking about Chelsea, maybe, I don't know. A little bit down the line, I could see that Hillary was really not amused at all. She was ticked. But Bill Clinton was saying nothing. It was really quite amazing.
After that interesting dinner, Nam June was inundated with phone calls, faxes, everything. All his friends around the world thought that was the best Fluxus performance in the world. Everybody wanted to know, including the press, whether it was an accident or whether it was, because you have to remember, my uncle is in a wheelchair now but he has a reputation for being a cultural terrorist. So I asked Nam June, did you drop your pants on purpose? Was it an act? Was it an artistic statement? A political statement? And so he said, My pants dropped. That's all. He told me, and this is very Nam June, he said, It really doesn't matter. It was a great event. He's just like that, totally unfazed. Was he embarrassed? No, of course not! And I think Bill Clinton was very cool about that, too. The press was so excited that somebody else's pants, not the president's, had dropped in the White House. They were so excited by that. It was the ultimate Fluxus event.
About two hours ago, I called Nam June and I told him I was going to receive this Medal for him, and I asked him, What advice do you have for the artists in the Colony? I'll pass on to you what he said. He said, Work hard. Be lazy - which is a very Nam June Paik thing to say. And he wished you all well. Thank you very much."
At the end of the memorial today, the nephew handed out about fifty scissors and asked everyone to cut off the tie of the man next to you or you wouldn't be allowed in the reception. Everyone cut off their neighbor's tie and then Yoko suggested everyone put the pieces in Nam's open casket. Everyone did.
More amazing things happened at the reception.
Bob Dobbs
P.S. Since he was a "global artist", Paik asked to be buried in 10 countries.
From: purple
Reply-To: "MCLUHAN-L : Marshall McLuhan Discussion List"
Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2006 00:02:23 -0500
To: MCLUHAN-L@listserv.utoronto.ca
Subject: [MCLUHAN-L] Paik Wake
It was an astounding event. Apparently he's bigger than McLuhan. South Korea is building a big museum dedicated to his oeuvre. The Smithsonian has a lot of his work on display.
All the avant-garde luminaries were there. Speeches were given by Yoko Ono, Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, Bill Viola, and yours truly (I told some MM/Paik stories). Telegrams from the President of Korea, the German culture czar, the Smithsonian, etc. His nephew was the best. Here's how he ended his talk:
"This is an interesting story I'll tell you. Aside from trying to keep him liquid, this is one of the most interesting things I did with him. In 1998, Nam June was invited to a state dinner at the Clinton White House, June of '98. If some of you remember, it's not that long ago, that was the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which had broken out earlier, in January or February. Nam June was going, and he asked if I would go with him. So I said, sure. I went with him. I wheeled him into the White House, and these gigantic Marines took over from there. Nam June was very amused, I think. He was having a great time, talking to all the people there. Then we got to the receiving line. Nam June decided to show respect, I think, to the president,Mrs. Clinton, and the other dignitaries there. He decided to get up from his wheelchair, get on his walker, and try to walk across the receiving line. Across the receiving line at the state dinner is the World's press. They're all there; I don't know how many, tens of cameras and video cameras, everything. So as Nam June is talking to President Clinton, and I'm standing right behind him as he's making some small talk to President Clinton, Nam June turns around and says to me: Ken, I think my pants are falling. True story here. And I said, What? My pants are falling! he says. I look down, and his pants are falling! They are completely down on the floor. And he has no underwear on! So I pick up his pants. I pull them up and I just hold them there. Now, Bill Clinton is such a cool president he still continued to have small talk with my uncle. I think they were talking about Chelsea, maybe, I don't know. A little bit down the line, I could see that Hillary was really not amused at all. She was ticked. But Bill Clinton was saying nothing. It was really quite amazing.
After that interesting dinner, Nam June was inundated with phone calls, faxes, everything. All his friends around the world thought that was the best Fluxus performance in the world. Everybody wanted to know, including the press, whether it was an accident or whether it was, because you have to remember, my uncle is in a wheelchair now but he has a reputation for being a cultural terrorist. So I asked Nam June, did you drop your pants on purpose? Was it an act? Was it an artistic statement? A political statement? And so he said, My pants dropped. That's all. He told me, and this is very Nam June, he said, It really doesn't matter. It was a great event. He's just like that, totally unfazed. Was he embarrassed? No, of course not! And I think Bill Clinton was very cool about that, too. The press was so excited that somebody else's pants, not the president's, had dropped in the White House. They were so excited by that. It was the ultimate Fluxus event.
About two hours ago, I called Nam June and I told him I was going to receive this Medal for him, and I asked him, What advice do you have for the artists in the Colony? I'll pass on to you what he said. He said, Work hard. Be lazy - which is a very Nam June Paik thing to say. And he wished you all well. Thank you very much."
At the end of the memorial today, the nephew handed out about fifty scissors and asked everyone to cut off the tie of the man next to you or you wouldn't be allowed in the reception. Everyone cut off their neighbor's tie and then Yoko suggested everyone put the pieces in Nam's open casket. Everyone did.
More amazing things happened at the reception.
Bob Dobbs
P.S. Since he was a "global artist", Paik asked to be buried in 10 countries.