Good Morning, Mr. Orwell

"Good Morning, Mr. Orwell" was the first international satellite "installation" by Nam June Paik, a South Korean-born American artist often credited with inventing video art. It occurred on New Year's Day, 1984.

The event, which Paik saw as a rebuttal to George Orwell's dystopian vision of 1984, linked WNET TV in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris live via satellite, as well as hooking up with broadcasters in Germany and South Korea. It aired nationwide in the US on public television, and reached an audience of over 25 million viewers worldwide.

George Plimpton hosted the show, which combined live and taped segments with TV graphics designed by Paik. John Cage, in New York, produced music by stroking the needles of dried cactus plants with a feather,^[1] accompanied by video images from Paris. Charlotte Moorman recreated Paik's TV Cello. Laurie Anderson and Peter Gabriel performed a new composition, "Excellent Birds," also known as "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)." The broadcast also featured the television premiere of the video Act III, with music by Philip Glass.^[2] The Thompson Twins performed their song "Hold Me Now."^[3] Oingo Boingo played its song "Wake Up (It's 1984)" to an audience that presumably had recently woken up on the first day of 1984. Others contributing to the project included poets Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, choreographer Merce Cunningham, and artist Joseph Beuys.

The program was conceived and coordinated by Nam June Paik. Executive Producer: Carol Brandenburg. Assisted by Debbie Liebling, Anne Garefino, Mark Malamud, and others.