Mikihiko Hori in May 2006

January 29, 2006, was a very sad day for a lot of us. The pioneer of video art, and a major Fluxus movement artist, Nam June Paik passed away that day after having suffered from a stroke several years ago.

Following to the memorial service conducted at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in NY on February 3, 2006, another memorial service was held at the Guggenheim Museum in NY on April 30, 2006.

Many famous artists came from all over the world to the service again to speak for the lost soul. The lobby of the Guggenheim where the service took place was packed. Perhaps more than several hundred people participated in this event.

There was a small stage set up in the lobby, and many chairs, probably around 100, were prepared in front of the stage for the guest speakers and Nam June's family. The other spectators stood to watch the event.


Nam June Paik: A Memorial Tribute

Introduced by:
John G. Hanhardt

With presentation by:
Thomas Krens
Ken Pail Hakuta
Merce Cunningham
Shigeko Kubota
Shuya Abe
Jonas Mekas
Russel Connor
David A. Ross
Wulf Herzogenrath
Lisa Phillips

Listening to all these speakers' heart-warming speeches, especially by Shigeko Kubota, who was also a Fluxus artist, and Nam June's widow, and Jonas Mekas, I could not help but feel how much Nam June meant to those people I knew only in the old photos.

Yoko Ono was the last speaker, or shall we say, last performer for this tribute. The brochure for the memorial service handed out at the entrance said, "The program concludes with a special performance by Yoko Ono of her work PROMISE PIECE-BONES." However, Yoko was not in the audience during the entire service.

When I saw the program announcing Yoko's performance "PROMISE PIECE-BONES," my initial thought was that Yoko would break a vase in front of us on the stage and give us the fragments of the vase, promising "we will meet together again in 10 years, and put the pieces back together."

Then I noticed the word "BONES". Being from Asia myself, I remember a tradition in Asia that after one passed away and was cremated, the remaining family of the dead would pick up the bones and ashes and put them in an urn. Some bones are divided to different members of family, and some choose to keep them and store in the place they wish as a remembrance. Nam June's bones will not be distributed around here, of course, so I thought that perhaps Yoko would give away some white things to us symbolizing Nam June's bones, and ask us to keep them in our own ways.

Finally, when it came to Yoko's turn, with Mr. John H. Earnhardt's warning, "No flashlights during the performance of Yoko Ono by her request," the auditorium became dim and the birds chirping filled the room. This sound must be coming from Yoko's composition "Outre" on "A Blueprint For The Sunrise" from "Yes Yoko Ono" book. The room was almost like a dawn, still dark, but with soft birds chirping, as if to make an announcement that a soul is being entered to another dimension of life.

Yoko appeared from the back room on the right side of the stage, escorted by two women. Yoko was wearing a beautiful shining blue gown all over her, and with that outfit she looked like a Chinese empress. However, Yoko did not go forward to the stage yet. She was standing there still and waiting for something. In the meantime, the two women, almost like attendants who would serve the empress, were wearing black clothes and black masks, and the masks had only openings around the eyes, like they were Islamic women. At the same time, with their black outfits, they also looked like women in mourning. These women headed for the stage while Yoko was waiting on the side, a bit far from the stage.

First, the two women placed a big panel on the stage. The panel was almost 10 feet tall and there was this photo of a huge white-based light-blue Chinese pottery on the surface. I believe the huge photo represented the actual size of the pottery.

Second, they carried a big white cloth tied with strings, from the back of the stage together. The cloth looked heavy, and gave me the impression that the cloth must contain a cadaver or something inside. This also reminded me of the Holy Shroud, a cloth that covered Jesus Christ's body after the crucifixion. However, when the women in black opened up the cloth, it turned out that the inside of the cloth were fragments of pottery, supposedly from the one on the panel, broken into hundreds of pieces. The two women scattered around the pieces with their hands. The fragments made light sounds while being scattered, like a chime. Then it dawned on me that these fragments are the bones of Nam June!

Third, they placed a grand Oriental-looking chair on the stage in front of a microphone and next to the pottery fragments, and left the stage quietly.

Fourth, one of the two women put a small brown square box in addition to a small black fabric bag next to the chair.

Now the soundtrack of birds chirping was finished.

After glazing at the construction on the stage, Yoko finally stepped up to the stage. Yoko's beautiful, spiked hair, with some brown highlights, captured my eyes. She was wearing a blue gown and dark purple sunglasses. Before she sat down on the chair, she took off the blue gown and left it on the stage. Under the blue gown, she was wearing this beautiful black dress. She seated on the chair, and launched her performance.

Yoko spoke into the microphone.

"The vase was broken
to free the soul."

Yoko pointed out to the fragments of pottery on her left side of the floor.

"It has become 450 pieces."

"Please take one each home
and in 10 years let's promise that
in 2016, Spring, that we will think of Nam June again."

After the speech, Yoko drew the microphone more towards her,
and started chanting a little prayer in Japanese.

"Tozai-Nanoboku no Kamigami
Tenchi Inyo no Seirei
Paik Nam June no Reikon o
Mamori tamae"

(Translation: "Gods in East, West, South, and North.
Holy Spirits in Heaven & Earth and Yin & Yang
Protect
the spirit of Paik Nam June.")

At the end of each line, Yoko added her trademark vocalization,
letting the last words trail away...
So it was like....

"Tozai-Nanoboku no Kamigamiiiiiiiiiiiii......
Tenchi Inyo no Seireeeeiiiiiii......ah........
Paik Nam June no Reikon o
Mamori tamaeeeeeee......"

Yoko smiled.

"Thank you...Go ahead.."

Yoko asked the audience to come to the stage and pick up the fragment of a vase, or a bone of Nam June, mind you.

Yoko picked up a black fabric bag from the floor. And there was blue wool inside the bag. Putting the blue wool on her lap, Yoko started knitting. Yoko did not exchange her glance with anyone in particular, as if she was actually avoiding seeing all these people in front of her. She was concentrating on her knitting.

There must have been some kind of symbolism in Yoko's performance: the vase was light blue, Yoko' gown was bright blue, and her wool was also blue. It may have something to do with Yoko's feelings like she was "blue" due to the loss or may represent that the soul of Nam June had gone to somewhere beyond the "blue" sky....

Yoko kept knitting and knitting with her head down as if she was trying to forget what was going on around her, namely, the reality. She did not talk to anyone during knitting. However, we could see her sorrow through her sunglasses and on her face.

On the other hand, hundred people lined up to the stage to pick up the fragments. Since the number of the audience was huge, this lasted for quite a while.

When you picked up a fragment from the stage, you realized that there was a written words on the back of it that read "y.o. '06" in black felt-tip pen. This was written on each single fragment by Yoko herself -- on all 450 pieces.

At last all the pieces were picked up by the spectators. This lasted more than 10 minutes. Yoko stood up from the chair when she noticed that there was no more fragment left. Yoko left the stage without any word, into the darkness, again escorted by the two women.

People clapped their hands for this extraordinary performance when Yoko departed. In this piece, however, Yoko did not mention of her regular line that we would get together in 10 years and put the pieces back together, intentionally or unintentionally.

Because the vase was broken to free the spirit encapsulated by the vase, (which can be a metaphor of a human body) this time it may not be necessary to put the pieces back together again. Putting the fragments and/or bones back together and calling for the spirit to come back may be meaningless. It may be enough just to have a fragment and/or bone with us and remember how much the spirit inside the vase had affected us.

Like when Buddha died, his bones divided and transferred all over the world, now Nam June's memories are travelling around all over the world with these fragments as a reminiscence.

Dear Nam June, who has gone to somewhere beyond the blue sky: I will remember you on April 26, 2016 with your bone inside my hand somewhere under the blue sky.

Thank you for being you.

Photos of Yoko Ono's performance Promise Piece - Bones