(speaking foreign language)
-: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's my pleasure that you are present here
and you are not (laughs) napping in the hotel.
(laughing) And I would like
to welcome you here.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) I will speak Czech;
I would like to apologize for that,
because my English is not strong enough,
and if I would be reading the text in English
I would have the problem that I would not even
understand what I am reading about.
So that's why I will translate this speech.
(speaking foreign language)
I would like to thank James for organizing
this wonderful event, and for inviting me here.
(speaking foreign language)
Now, I will better use the paper
because I am not a big speaker,
so I made a few notes for my speech,
but don't worry, it's not too long.
(chuckling)
(speaking foreign language)
There is a very difficult task ahead of me:
to reflect on Vaclav Havel in a short period of time.
(speaking foreign language)
I was just one of many photographers
who had the honor of photographing Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
I have no specialized archive that I could turn to,
but I have many memories and stories
that I turned to while preparing this speech.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) I would like to apologize for not being precise
in all that I say, perhaps, because most of my memories
come from the last millennium already.
(speaking foreign language)
The good thing is that Vaclav Havel
was such a big personality that even the time didn't--
Or even throughout the time, I didn't lose the memories.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel was an amazing man.
(speaking foreign language)
And these were really wonderful times that I spent with him.
(speaking foreign language)
In my memories, Vaclav Havel was a hardcore optimist,
full of positive energy, who was constantly spreading
good mood around him, actually until his death.
(speaking foreign language)
And it was amazing to work with him.
(speaking foreign language)
I consider being a photographer as a dream job.
(speaking foreign language)
And it made real sense for me to work with Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
There was always something going on with him.
(speaking foreign language)
He conquered the world with his story,
because in the spring of 1989
he was a prisoner of conscience,
and by Christmas he was already the president.
(speaking foreign language)
He had courage, and that is one
of the rarest human qualities.
And he fought for the freedom of others
at the price of his own oppression.
(speaking foreign language)
I had the opportunity to talk to him
two weeks before he died.
(speaking foreign language)
I asked him if he was disappointed
about how it all turned out in the Czech Republic
and in the world.
(speaking foreign language)
He told me with a smile that nothing was everlasting
and life moves in certain circles,
so the struggle for democracy is infinite.
(speaking foreign language)
He was deeply convinced that the hope is a state of spirit
that gives meaning to life,
and had this kind of hope deep within himself.
(speaking foreign language)
I was wondering what is actually the connection,
if there is one, between the story of Vaclav Havel
and the invasion of Russian tanks
in Czechoslovakia in August, 1968.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel spent the August events of 1968
just like all of us:
(speaking foreign language)
after the first, let's say shock,
he immediately joined the Czech actor
Jan Triska in active resistance.
(speaking foreign language)
They started a little broadcasting of Czech radio
in Liberec town, and informed about the invasion
of Soviet troops truthfully at that time.
(speaking foreign language)
After a short period of vain hope,
the hard repression of the Communist regime came
under the famous slogan, "With the Soviet Union
"for eternal times, and never otherwise."
(speaking foreign language)
And on the 8th of April, 1975,
Vaclav Havel sent a letter to the Secretary General
of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Mr Gustav Husak.
(speaking foreign language)
It was a message to, basically,
the architect of normalization in Czechoslovakia
after the August, 1968 invasion.
(speaking foreign language)
Gustav Husak used repressions and hardline tactics
to force society to live for eternal times with the USSR.
(speaking foreign language)
And exactly this, Havel's letter to Dr Husak,
became one of the first seeds of resistance
to the communist totality.
(speaking foreign language)
The regime led by Dr Husak is distant history nowadays,
fortunately, but the questions formulated
in Vaclav Havel's letter, with no appropriate answers
by the communist regime, remain valid till today.
(speaking foreign language)
The regime's answer did not come back then,
but its repressions did.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel became the co-founder of Charter 77 movement,
and many other anti-totalitarian activities.
(speaking foreign language)
And so there was a dissident born
within the horizon of a dramatist and writer.
(speaking foreign language)
And now to the photography itself.
I was thinking about the roles and highlights
of Vaclav Havel's life that I could present here today,
since there is just little time
to cover Vaclav Havel's entire life.
A couple of points came to my mind.
One of the highlights come from Vaclav Havel's interviews
and the book called Disturbing the Peace,
in Czech Dalkovy Vyslech.
(speaking foreign language)
In that book, an editor of the Voice of America,
Mr Karel Huizdala, conducted an interview with Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
At the end of this book, Karel Huizdala asks Vaclav Havel
when he balances his life in his early 50s,
which one of those life roles was the most fulfilling one.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel answers that his life is full of paradoxes,
just like his dramas,
(speaking foreign language)
that even though he was well-known as a dramatist
and a man of the theater, the theater as such,
paradoxically, was not his favorite thing.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) He was admired as a so-called
prisoner of conscience and dissident,
but, again paradoxically, he hated politics.
(speaking foreign language)
And so on the threshold of his 50s, he felt
that much of life's challenges remained ahead of him.
(speaking foreign language)
And this challenge came when he announced
on the 14th of December, 1989, during the Velvet Revolution,
that he accepted the challenge to become
the first post-revolutionary president of Czechoslovakia.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel once said that hope is the state of the spirit
that makes our life meaningful,
and in order to realize our hopes and dreams
we must have a vision.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel, as a president, had a great vision
that Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic,
will return back to the community of democratic republics
concentrated in the European Union,
and his very important vision was the vision
of the Czech Republic's integration into NATO.
(speaking foreign language)
And these main tasks were fulfilled, despite the fact
that he became seriously ill during his presidency.
(speaking foreign language)
And it was a tremendous honor to work with Vaclav Havel
as his personal photographer,
especially during his second presidential term.
(speaking foreign language)
And now eventually, to my personal memories
to taking pictures of Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel was a very famous guy.
He was a celebrity considerable with Nelson Mandela,
Gandhi, Lech Walesa, and it was unbelievable
what I was able to experience on his side.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
I have a nice memory on a visit in Germany.
At the Brandenburger Tor, Brandenburg gate, in Berlin,
a passerby asked me who was the man next to Vaclav Havel.
And he said, "That's Mr Johannes Rau,
"your president." (laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
It was not the first or last time
during my travels with Vaclav Havel
when the locals immediately recognized Vaclav Havel
but not their own presidents or government officials.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
My friend, writer Arnost Lustig, once told me,
"My friend, it goes like in that
"old songs I listen to on my radio.
"I hear you talking, but I do not understand the words."
(speaking foreign language)
What Arnost Lustig said was not the case
of Vaclav Havel, because he always knew
what he wanted to say, because he was fighting
for the freedom of others and for his ideals,
even if he had to pay for it with his own personal freedom.
He never gave up, and he never got discouraged.
Courage is one of the most important virtues
of a human being, and that is probably
why he is so well-known around the world.
(speaking foreign language)
In May, 1989, a political prisoner, writer,
and co-founder of Charter 77 movement, Vaclav Havel,
was released from the prison.
And in December, as said earlier,
he was elected the president of Czechoslovakia.
And this unique story touched the whole world,
and everybody wanted to get to know him,
and everybody wanted to meet him.
(speaking foreign language)
There were many beautiful encounters
and many incredible stories around him at that time.
There was a historic first visit
of an American president to Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) The Rolling Stones came with a slogan,
"Tanks roll out, Stones roll in."
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) The Queen of England gave an audience
to Havel's dog, Dula, at the Prague Castle,
which we will see in the pictures.
(speaking foreign language)
The president, Lech Walesa, and Vaclav Havel
meet officially at the Prague Castle as presidents
and not anymore in secret as dissidents
somewhere in the mountains of Karkonosze.
(speaking foreign language)
The emperor of Japan admires the crown jewels
and accepts a symbolic key to the gates of Prague.
His Holiness Dalai Lama accepts an invitation for tea
at Havel's home, and Prince Charles
helps finance the restoration
of the southern gardens of the Prague Castle.
(speaking foreign language)
On the street of Prikope in the center of Prague,
we can meet the famous writer Umberto Eco
walking with Vaclav Havel to Municipal House
to accept the Vision 97 Award,
and not only this, but during his visit to Prague
Umberto Eco also made a childhood dream come true
and bought himself a trumpet made by Amati Kraslice,
which is the same as a trumpeter of a promenade orchestra
used to play in his little town when Eco was growing up.
(speaking foreign language)
Everybody wants to take a picture of Vaclav Havel
or take a picture with him, like for example
the famous actress Gina Lollobrigida,
Lou Reed, as well as Bob Dylan, who made an exception
and agreed to be photographed with Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) The First Lady of United States, Hillary Clinton,
drew the spiritual from the little carpet of Dalai Lama,
and she also tried absinthe in Cafe Slavia.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) President of France Jacques Chirac
goes to grab a beer at the famous
(speaking foreign language), and in the theater Reduta
the president Bill Clinton plays saxophone
made by Amati, and afterwards
grabs a beer at the (speaking foreign language)
with the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.
(speaking foreign language)
And action movie hero Bruce Willis,
accompanied by his daughters, was getting lessons
on the Prague Castle's architectural jewels
directly from Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
And then there was a meeting with the president
Barack Obama, the first African-American man
to hold this position, at a summit in Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
And there is still a red heart
shining over the Prague Castle.
(speaking foreign language)
I could continue like that forever
because these were really all
pleasant and extraordinary experiences.
However, documenting these events with a camera
was very difficult.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel was a humble and shy guy,
and he did not like to be photographed.
(speaking foreign language)
The making up or pre-arranging
of some special shots was impossible.
(speaking foreign language)
And documenting events outside the protocol
was the most difficult task.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel really enjoyed to surprise his guests
with some jokes or some out-of-ordinary experiences.
(speaking foreign language)
However, he did not wish these events to be photographed,
as he did not want anybody to think that he was doing it
only in order to create a special photo.
(speaking foreign language)
And he took all of these meetings
as a part of his tour of duty.
(speaking foreign language)
And his favorite photograph was not the one where he
was captured dancing rock and roll in the White House,
but the one where the NATO General Secretary Javier Solana
and President Clinton are congratulating him
on the occasion of the Czech Republic joining NATO
during its summit in Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
And I think that these days
everybody highly appreciates the great effort
that Vaclav Havel put in it.
(speaking foreign language)
Now I would like to turn your attention
to the photographs itself; like the first one
was taken not long before his death
in DOX Modern Museum of Art in Prague,
where there was an exhibition
called The Crimes of Communism,
and he was standing in front of the picture of Gustav Husak
and he was telling me that he is thinking about Gustav Husak
as a shadow that is still following him
and he can't get rid of him.
(speaking foreign language)
It's interesting that Lou Reed, who was one of the guests
at this exhibition, said, "I don't know who is this guy
"in the picture, but that's for me a stereotype
"of," like, "a Communist criminal."
(speaking foreign language)
Here in this picture, you can see
Vaclav Havel as a prisoner.
Vaclav Havel spent almost five years in prison,
and here you can see the pictures from the police archives.
(speaking foreign language)
He himself didn't like this part of his life
and he didn't want to talk about this part of his life,
and he was often making the stories
less serious than they were,
and I heard that his imprisonment was--
(speaking foreign language)
That it was kind of like privileged imprisonment.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
It's tough for me to translate,
but it wasn't true that his imprisonment would be easy,
like, he was imprisoned four times
and as his co-prisoners said, it was not easy at all.
Like, he always got very hard work
and as he was not used to doing such hard work,
he had really tough times fulfilling the norms.
(speaking foreign language)
And if he wasn't able to fulfill the norms
he would get heavily punished,
and these punishments also led to his future illnesses
and frequent pneumonias.
(speaking foreign language)
He had rare privileges, like one to mention would be
that from time to time he got a pack of cigarettes,
or during New Year's Eve they could watch TV
for a little while, but just in case
that there were more prisoners who chose the same program.
(speaking foreign language)
And he wanted to watch opera--
-: Bartered Bride. -: Bartered Bride,
in Czech Prodana Nevesta.
(speaking foreign language)
And since he had enough cigarettes on disposal
he bribed (laughs) the other prisoners
to vote for the same (laughs) channel.
So that's how he got to see it.
(speaking foreign language)
With this picture we get to the Velvet Revolution itself,
and the slogan of the revolution was, "We have bare hands."
(speaking foreign language)
Here we can see Vaclav Havel and his wife Olga
at that crucial moment when he was deciding
whether he should enter the balcony and tell the crowd
that he is accepting the challenge.
(speaking foreign language)
This is a portrait of Vaclav Havel from November, 1989.
(speaking foreign language)
And that is the crucial moment
when the serious decision was made
that Vaclav Havel will accept the presidential challenge,
whereas his wife was against it,
so they went to the famous spa U Pinkasu
and there was this decision made.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is the famous shot from the balcony
where he is informing the crowds of people
that he is accepting the presidential challenge, or--
Candidature?
Candidature, mmhmm.
(speaking foreign language)
Okay, we skipped a little bit in time
and here is Vaclav Havel signing his declaration
for his second presidential run.
(speaking foreign language)
This (laughs) portrait is called,
I call it "The Happy President." (laughs)
Satisfied president. (speaking foreign language)
(laughs) Although the situation
under which this photo was taken
was not that satisfying or happy,
because Vaclav Havel came back to his office
after longer sickness or illness,
and the head of his budget,
who was Vaclav Klaus at that time,
told him that the expenditures have to be cut.
(speaking foreign language)
So that's the first historical visit
of an American president, George Bush, in Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
So this is an interesting photo
because it's the first celebrity visit in Prague
in January, 1990.
(speaking foreign language)
I think you can recognize the lady
in the middle of the picture; it's Jane Fonda.
(speaking foreign language)
And the mayor of the city is ordering three beers.
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
The visit itself didn't end up so well
as this order, probably, (laughs)
because Jane Fonda had a plan;
while she came to Prague she wanted to buy and arrange--
(speaking off camera) The filming, the author rights
for a movie about Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language) (speaking off camera)
Oh, about the book Letters to Olga.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
But she only read the title of the book,
and she didn't realize that it's a serious political talk
and not a romantic story like Anna Karenina.
(speaking foreign language)
So she left unsatisfied.
(speaking foreign language)
This picture is very precious because you can see
Vaclav Havel after 20 years on theater stage.
(speaking foreign language)
It is in the Prague theater Cinoherni klub
on the 14th of January, 1990,
and the play is called Audience.
(speaking foreign language)
And what is interesting about this playwright
is that this theater piece was co-financed by Paul Newman.
(speaking foreign language)
That's Frank Zappa and the music group
Plastic People of the Universe
having a concert together in Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) It was interesting
that when the American underground musician Frank Zappa came
and he started playing with Mejla Hlavsa and Jirous, Magor,
he asked whether the police is not coming
and arresting them in the next moment.
(speaking foreign language)
Actually, the initial plan was that Vaclav Havel
will attend this concert, but the organization
of this event was somehow (laughs) not very successful,
so Vaclav Havel was not let in.
So Frank Zappa was quite disappointed.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is one of the most famous pictures,
when the Rolling Stones rolled in.
-: To Prague. -: To Prague.
(speaking foreign language)
It was also (laughs) amusing that when Mick Jagger
was walking with Vaclav Havel on the Charles Bridge,
he would ask him, "Where is the Prague Castle,"
like "Did it disappear somewhere?"
(speaking foreign language)
We didn't quite get that at that moment
because we were all used to the fact
that Prague is dark in the evening, during the night,
and there was no lighting.
(speaking foreign language)
So the Rolling Stones were actually financing
the first study of--
Say enlightening? (speaking off camera)
Illumination of the Prague Castle,
and this study was made by their professional--
(speaking off camera) Light designers,
who had really great practice from their concerts.
(speaking foreign language)
And also, Rolling Stones designed and financed
the illumination of the biggest festive hall
at the Prague Castle, so-called Spanish Hall.
(speaking foreign language)
And now we can see the British queen
entering the illuminated Spanish Hall at the Prague Castle.
(speaking foreign language)
I also put this picture in the presentation
because it's interesting by the fact
that you could read in the novel Three Musketeers,
from Alexander Dumas-- (speaking foreign language)
Because she has the same diamonds, jewels, on her;
(speaking foreign language)
and she also has the Order of British Imperium?
-: Empire. -: Empire,
that she's talking very rarely on.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing)
And this is my favorite famous picture
that I was not allowed to take picture of.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) I should serve as a bodyguard
who should be guarding the dog,
(speaking foreign language)
because the dog, called Dula, was the dog
of the wife of Vaclav Havel, Olga.
(speaking foreign language)
And his wife Olga was dead at that time already.
(speaking foreign language)
And Dula was a very nervous dog, because she lost her--
Mama? -: Mistress, yeah.
Translator: Mistress. (laughs)
And there were all the time many people around her
and she was quite a problematic dog.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) And she--
-: Bit. -: Bit many
famous celebrities. (laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) For example, Francois Mitterrand was bit by her.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) And also interesting is the name of the dog,
because the dog was called after the first--
(speaking off camera)
After the first Hungarian president, Dula...
(speaking foreign language)
How was he called, Dula? (speaking off camera)
The president? (speaking off camera)
Okay, he was called Dula, however,
and (laughs) when Olga got this dog
she said, "Oh, he looks like Dula." (laughs)
(speaking foreign language)
And the British queen was asking Vaclav Havel
where he has his dog.
(speaking foreign language)
And since Vaclav Havel knew that the British queen
loved the dogs, and she herself had many dogs,
(speaking foreign language)
and day to day, the British queen had many audiences
and boring meetings behind her,
(speaking foreign language)
so at the end of the day, Vaclav Havel decided
to make her day brighter and funnier
by making an audience of his own dog by the British queen.
(speaking foreign language) (laughing)
The whole office was of course scared,
fainting and scared about what might happen.
(speaking foreign language)
And, like, all diplomatic rules were broken by this audience
because usually the queen is offering an audience
and not that the queen is asked to give audience,
to a dog, especially.
(speaking foreign language)
And I was not allowed to take pictures,
but the press manager of the British queen
said, "Okay, let's take the picture right away."
(speaking foreign language)
And I was not allowed to make this picture public,
and I was only allowed to develop the picture
and send it to Britain.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) And after three weeks
there came this picture back to Prague,
with a note that this picture
is the only allowed picture breaking the protocol of rules
where the queen is showing Her Majesty knee.
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
The British queen told us at this point
that when she was a little child
she was taught several hours a day how to sit properly.
(speaking foreign language) (laughing)
I want to show you this picture also,
because it's a typical example
of, a nice picture of Vaclav Havel could be taken.
(speaking foreign language)
Because the official protocol asked the president
to have an official picture with an Order of White Lion
and in a jacket or tuxedo--
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) And when Vaclav Havel dressed up
and looked in the mirror, he said, "No way,
"I am not gonna make this picture."
(speaking foreign language)
So his wife Dasa, Dagmar, at that time,
asked me to go to him and ask him to do it somehow.
(speaking foreign language)
So I told him, "I will bring you your dog Dula,
"we will go to the Plecnik Hall, and you will have
"a perfect New Year's wish for Pavel Kohout."
(speaking foreign language)
Because they have been long-lasting friends
with the writer Pavel Kohout, and they had a special habit
of sending some amusing or funny
New Year's wishes every year.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) So I made this photo
really quickly, and then we exchanged the dog
for his wife Dasa. (laughing)
And so that's how this picture--
(speaking off camera) Came to life.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is the picture in Havel's favorite place,
in his weekend house called Hradecek,
and this is on a walk with his dogs,
or with their dogs.
(speaking foreign language)
This is Vaclav Havel was his friend, Dalai Lama.
(speaking foreign language)
And here you can see the famous little carpet
of Dalai Lama, which was a present
from Dalai Lama to Vaclav Havel.
(speaking foreign language)
So when Hillary Clinton came to Prague to visit,
she also wanted to see this carpet
and get some energy out of that.
(speaking foreign language)
At that time, when the press manager of Hillary Clinton,
or of the presidential couple, found out
which picture was taken, he was quite desperate,
and he said that this picture can't come public
because the First Lady shouldn't show the sympathy
to Dalai Lama at that time.
(speaking foreign language)
So this is the Clintons welcoming
Vaclav Havel in White House.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is the famous picture
called Rock 'n' Roll in White House.
(speaking foreign language)
This dance came after a concert
of Lou Reed and Mejla Hlavsa from Plastic People
of the Universe. (speaking foreign language)
And they opened their concert by a favorite song,
called The Best is the-- (speaking off camera)
-: Marital Sex is the Best. -: Marital Sex is the Best.
(speaking off camera) (laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
The audience was really rich on celebrities,
like (speaking foreign language), Madeleine Albright,
Stevie Wonder, Henry Kissinger--
(speaking foreign language)
And Madeleine Albright was the first to ask Henry Kissinger
to dance, and afterwards everybody followed.
(speaking foreign language)
Actually, this is the picture
of welcoming John Paul II in Prague.
(mumbles) saying that in the year 1979,
when Vaclav Havel was arrested for the first time,
John Paul would come to Poland--
(speaking foreign language)
And Vaclav Havel was very desperate
that there is already something going on in Poland
and still nothing going on in Czechoslovakia.
(speaking foreign language)
And when John Paul II came for the first time
to Czechoslovakia, the people would call, "It's a miracle."
(speaking foreign language)
And Vaclav Havel said, "Yes, it is a miracle."
(speaking foreign language)
And it's the famous invitation for Dalai Lama
to drink tea at Havel's place.
(speaking foreign language)
It's the Japan Emperor--
(speaking foreign language)
Jacques Chirac drinking beer.
(speaking foreign language)
Vaclav Havel was a big admirer and fan of Gina Lollobrigida.
(speaking foreign language)
And Gina Lollobrigida by herself
also did pictures and took photographs of famous people.
(speaking foreign language)
But she was so nervous of Vaclav Havel
that she was not able to take pictures by herself.
(speaking foreign language)
Because as a right Italian lady
she came too late to the audience at Vaclav Havel's place.
(speaking foreign language)
So she actually came in the gap
when there was supposed to be
the Estonian president already.
(speaking foreign language)
And she told him, she's very nervous
and she can't take pictures by herself.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) So he told her
that he's a-- -: Amateur.
Translator: Amateur photograph by himself,
and he will try to do it for her.
(speaking foreign language)
But Vaclav Havel was really happy that he met her.
(speaking foreign language)
This is the sightseeing for Bruce Willis and his daughters.
(speaking foreign language)
(laughing) And the daughters
were more excited of Sparta Football Club
than from the Prague Castle.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is Michael Jackson in the Spanish Hall.
(speaking foreign language)
This is the Brandenburger Tor, Gate.
(speaking foreign language)
Yeah, Oxford, (crosstalk drowns out speaker)
(speaking foreign language)
When Vaclav Havel was visiting Great Britain
he was supposed to meet Salman Rushdie,
but the British police said that it's too big security risk
and the meeting was canceled.
(speaking foreign language)
But because Vaclav Havel was always very stubborn,
he wanted to meet Salman Rushdie,
so he asked his friend Tom Stoppard
and he arranged this meeting in his own private apartment.
(speaking foreign language)
This is Umberto Eco in Prague. (speaking foreign language)
And that's the famous trumpet from Amati Kraslice
that we were talking about earlier.
(speaking foreign language)
And this is the Order of White Lion for Mikhail Gorbachev.
(speaking foreign language)
When Vaclav Havel was meeting Gorbachev in Moscow,
he brought him as a present a peace pipe from American--
Native Americans, and he wanted
to smoke a peace pipe with him.
(speaking foreign language)
And Gorbachev answered, "Thank you, I am a nonsmoker."
(laughing) (speaking foreign language)
And Vaclav Havel told me that throughout the whole audience
he was thinking about whether it was a joke
of if Gorbachev is that stupid.
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
This is the only picture that Vaclav Havel
asked me to do for him.
(speaking foreign language)
When we were walking through Central Park in New York,
(speaking foreign language)
he stepped up on a--
Pedestal? -: Vacant.
-: Pedestal.
(speaking foreign language)
And said, "Please take this picture
"as my message to the future."
(speaking foreign language)
(laughs) And don't make a statue of me.
It would look such a stupid as this one.
(laughing)
(speaking foreign language)
But despite his wishes, Vaclav Havel has his statue
in the Capitol of United States.
(speaking foreign language)
(applause) (translator laughs)