Alan Pajer: Photographing Václav Havel

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05/22/2018 Added

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Octavio Kano-Galvan, Assistant Professor of Practice in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, introduces world-famous photographer, Alan Pajer as he presents "Photographing Václav Havel," translated by Mariana Čapková, at Prague Spring 50. Friday, April 6, 2018 - 1:30 - 2:45 pm https://praguespring50.unl.edu/welcome

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[99:59:59.999][1:55] (speaking foreign language) [2:09] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. [2:11] It's my pleasure that you are present here [2:14] and you are not (laughs) napping in the hotel. [2:18] (laughing) And I would like [2:20] to welcome you here. [2:22] (speaking foreign language) [2:36] (laughs) I will speak Czech; [2:40] I would like to apologize for that, [2:42] because my English is not strong enough, [2:46] and if I would be reading the text in English [2:49] I would have the problem that I would not even [2:52] understand what I am reading about. [2:55] So that's why I will translate this speech. [3:03] (speaking foreign language) [3:11] I would like to thank James for organizing [3:13] this wonderful event, and for inviting me here. [3:22] (speaking foreign language) [3:33] Now, I will better use the paper [3:35] because I am not a big speaker, [3:37] so I made a few notes for my speech, [3:40] but don't worry, it's not too long. [3:43] (chuckling) [3:45] (speaking foreign language) [3:51] There is a very difficult task ahead of me: [3:54] to reflect on Vaclav Havel in a short period of time. [4:00] (speaking foreign language) [4:05] I was just one of many photographers [4:07] who had the honor of photographing Vaclav Havel. [4:12] (speaking foreign language) [4:27] I have no specialized archive that I could turn to, [4:32] but I have many memories and stories [4:36] that I turned to while preparing this speech. [4:40] (speaking foreign language) [4:48] (laughs) I would like to apologize for not being precise [4:52] in all that I say, perhaps, because most of my memories [4:57] come from the last millennium already. [5:03] (speaking foreign language) [5:13] The good thing is that Vaclav Havel [5:16] was such a big personality that even the time didn't-- [5:23] Or even throughout the time, I didn't lose the memories. [5:28] (speaking foreign language) [5:31] Vaclav Havel was an amazing man. [5:34] (speaking foreign language) [5:37] And these were really wonderful times that I spent with him. [5:43] (speaking foreign language) [5:54] In my memories, Vaclav Havel was a hardcore optimist, [5:59] full of positive energy, who was constantly spreading [6:03] good mood around him, actually until his death. [6:09] (speaking foreign language) [6:12] And it was amazing to work with him. [6:14] (speaking foreign language) [6:18] I consider being a photographer as a dream job. [6:22] (speaking foreign language) [6:24] And it made real sense for me to work with Vaclav Havel. [6:30] (speaking foreign language) [6:32] There was always something going on with him. [6:44] (speaking foreign language) [6:56] He conquered the world with his story, [7:00] because in the spring of 1989 [7:02] he was a prisoner of conscience, [7:06] and by Christmas he was already the president. [7:11] (speaking foreign language) [7:19] He had courage, and that is one [7:22] of the rarest human qualities. [7:25] And he fought for the freedom of others [7:28] at the price of his own oppression. [7:33] (speaking foreign language) [7:41] I had the opportunity to talk to him [7:44] two weeks before he died. [7:48] (speaking foreign language) [7:55] I asked him if he was disappointed [8:00] about how it all turned out in the Czech Republic [8:03] and in the world. [8:06] (speaking foreign language) [8:21] He told me with a smile that nothing was everlasting [8:28] and life moves in certain circles, [8:32] so the struggle for democracy is infinite. [8:38] (speaking foreign language) [8:48] He was deeply convinced that the hope is a state of spirit [8:54] that gives meaning to life, [8:56] and had this kind of hope deep within himself. [9:03] (speaking foreign language) [9:15] I was wondering what is actually the connection, [9:18] if there is one, between the story of Vaclav Havel [9:23] and the invasion of Russian tanks [9:25] in Czechoslovakia in August, 1968. [9:31] (speaking foreign language) [9:40] Vaclav Havel spent the August events of 1968 [9:45] just like all of us: [9:48] (speaking foreign language) [9:56] after the first, let's say shock, [10:00] he immediately joined the Czech actor [10:03] Jan Triska in active resistance. [10:07] (speaking foreign language) [10:15] They started a little broadcasting of Czech radio [10:19] in Liberec town, and informed about the invasion [10:24] of Soviet troops truthfully at that time. [10:29] (speaking foreign language) [10:41] After a short period of vain hope, [10:45] the hard repression of the Communist regime came [10:49] under the famous slogan, "With the Soviet Union [10:53] "for eternal times, and never otherwise." [10:58] (speaking foreign language) [11:09] And on the 8th of April, 1975, [11:15] Vaclav Havel sent a letter to the Secretary General [11:18] of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Mr Gustav Husak. [11:24] (speaking foreign language) [11:32] It was a message to, basically, [11:34] the architect of normalization in Czechoslovakia [11:39] after the August, 1968 invasion. [11:43] (speaking foreign language) [11:51] Gustav Husak used repressions and hardline tactics [11:57] to force society to live for eternal times with the USSR. [12:04] (speaking foreign language) [12:14] And exactly this, Havel's letter to Dr Husak, [12:18] became one of the first seeds of resistance [12:22] to the communist totality. [12:25] (speaking foreign language) [12:40] The regime led by Dr Husak is distant history nowadays, [12:45] fortunately, but the questions formulated [12:49] in Vaclav Havel's letter, with no appropriate answers [12:53] by the communist regime, remain valid till today. [12:59] (speaking foreign language) [13:03] The regime's answer did not come back then, [13:06] but its repressions did. [13:09] (speaking foreign language) [13:17] Vaclav Havel became the co-founder of Charter 77 movement, [13:23] and many other anti-totalitarian activities. [13:29] (speaking foreign language) [13:37] And so there was a dissident born [13:40] within the horizon of a dramatist and writer. [13:45] (speaking foreign language) [14:07] And now to the photography itself. [14:12] I was thinking about the roles and highlights [14:16] of Vaclav Havel's life that I could present here today, [14:21] since there is just little time [14:23] to cover Vaclav Havel's entire life. [14:27] A couple of points came to my mind. [14:29] One of the highlights come from Vaclav Havel's interviews [14:33] and the book called Disturbing the Peace, [14:37] in Czech Dalkovy Vyslech. [14:40] (speaking foreign language) [14:47] In that book, an editor of the Voice of America, [14:51] Mr Karel Huizdala, conducted an interview with Vaclav Havel. [14:57] (speaking foreign language) [15:09] At the end of this book, Karel Huizdala asks Vaclav Havel [15:14] when he balances his life in his early 50s, [15:18] which one of those life roles was the most fulfilling one. [15:24] (speaking foreign language) [15:34] Vaclav Havel answers that his life is full of paradoxes, [15:38] just like his dramas, [15:41] (speaking foreign language) [15:48] that even though he was well-known as a dramatist [15:53] and a man of the theater, the theater as such, [15:57] paradoxically, was not his favorite thing. [16:01] (speaking foreign language) [16:10] (laughs) He was admired as a so-called [16:14] prisoner of conscience and dissident, [16:17] but, again paradoxically, he hated politics. [16:22] (speaking foreign language) [16:27] And so on the threshold of his 50s, he felt [16:32] that much of life's challenges remained ahead of him. [16:38] (speaking foreign language) [16:54] And this challenge came when he announced [16:57] on the 14th of December, 1989, during the Velvet Revolution, [17:03] that he accepted the challenge to become [17:06] the first post-revolutionary president of Czechoslovakia. [17:13] (speaking foreign language) [17:28] Vaclav Havel once said that hope is the state of the spirit [17:33] that makes our life meaningful, [17:36] and in order to realize our hopes and dreams [17:40] we must have a vision. [17:42] (speaking foreign language) [18:03] Vaclav Havel, as a president, had a great vision [18:08] that Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic, [18:12] will return back to the community of democratic republics [18:16] concentrated in the European Union, [18:19] and his very important vision was the vision [18:24] of the Czech Republic's integration into NATO. [18:29] (speaking foreign language) [18:41] And these main tasks were fulfilled, despite the fact [18:46] that he became seriously ill during his presidency. [18:54] (speaking foreign language) [19:03] And it was a tremendous honor to work with Vaclav Havel [19:07] as his personal photographer, [19:09] especially during his second presidential term. [19:15] (speaking foreign language) [19:21] And now eventually, to my personal memories [19:24] to taking pictures of Vaclav Havel. [19:29] (speaking foreign language) [19:57] Vaclav Havel was a very famous guy. [20:01] He was a celebrity considerable with Nelson Mandela, [20:07] Gandhi, Lech Walesa, and it was unbelievable [20:13] what I was able to experience on his side. [20:19] (speaking foreign language) [20:39] (laughing) [20:42] I have a nice memory on a visit in Germany. [20:49] At the Brandenburger Tor, Brandenburg gate, in Berlin, [20:54] a passerby asked me who was the man next to Vaclav Havel. [21:01] And he said, "That's Mr Johannes Rau, [21:04] "your president." (laughing) [21:08] (speaking foreign language) [21:20] It was not the first or last time [21:22] during my travels with Vaclav Havel [21:25] when the locals immediately recognized Vaclav Havel [21:30] but not their own presidents or government officials. [21:35] (speaking foreign language) [21:52] (laughing) [21:54] My friend, writer Arnost Lustig, once told me, [22:00] "My friend, it goes like in that [22:03] "old songs I listen to on my radio. [22:07] "I hear you talking, but I do not understand the words." [22:13] (speaking foreign language) [22:42] What Arnost Lustig said was not the case [22:46] of Vaclav Havel, because he always knew [22:50] what he wanted to say, because he was fighting [22:54] for the freedom of others and for his ideals, [22:58] even if he had to pay for it with his own personal freedom. [23:03] He never gave up, and he never got discouraged. [23:08] Courage is one of the most important virtues [23:11] of a human being, and that is probably [23:15] why he is so well-known around the world. [23:19] (speaking foreign language) [23:40] In May, 1989, a political prisoner, writer, [23:44] and co-founder of Charter 77 movement, Vaclav Havel, [23:49] was released from the prison. [23:51] And in December, as said earlier, [23:55] he was elected the president of Czechoslovakia. [23:59] And this unique story touched the whole world, [24:04] and everybody wanted to get to know him, [24:08] and everybody wanted to meet him. [24:11] (speaking foreign language) [24:22] There were many beautiful encounters [24:25] and many incredible stories around him at that time. [24:30] There was a historic first visit [24:32] of an American president to Prague. [24:36] (speaking foreign language) [24:42] (laughs) The Rolling Stones came with a slogan, [24:45] "Tanks roll out, Stones roll in." [24:50] (speaking foreign language) [24:56] (laughs) The Queen of England gave an audience [25:00] to Havel's dog, Dula, at the Prague Castle, [25:04] which we will see in the pictures. [25:06] (speaking foreign language) [25:17] The president, Lech Walesa, and Vaclav Havel [25:20] meet officially at the Prague Castle as presidents [25:23] and not anymore in secret as dissidents [25:26] somewhere in the mountains of Karkonosze. [25:29] (speaking foreign language) [25:51] The emperor of Japan admires the crown jewels [25:57] and accepts a symbolic key to the gates of Prague. [26:02] His Holiness Dalai Lama accepts an invitation for tea [26:06] at Havel's home, and Prince Charles [26:10] helps finance the restoration [26:13] of the southern gardens of the Prague Castle. [26:16] (speaking foreign language) [26:39] On the street of Prikope in the center of Prague, [26:43] we can meet the famous writer Umberto Eco [26:47] walking with Vaclav Havel to Municipal House [26:52] to accept the Vision 97 Award, [26:57] and not only this, but during his visit to Prague [27:03] Umberto Eco also made a childhood dream come true [27:07] and bought himself a trumpet made by Amati Kraslice, [27:13] which is the same as a trumpeter of a promenade orchestra [27:19] used to play in his little town when Eco was growing up. [27:24] (speaking foreign language) [27:39] Everybody wants to take a picture of Vaclav Havel [27:43] or take a picture with him, like for example [27:47] the famous actress Gina Lollobrigida, [27:50] Lou Reed, as well as Bob Dylan, who made an exception [27:57] and agreed to be photographed with Vaclav Havel. [28:01] (speaking foreign language) [28:13] (laughs) The First Lady of United States, Hillary Clinton, [28:17] drew the spiritual from the little carpet of Dalai Lama, [28:22] and she also tried absinthe in Cafe Slavia. [28:28] (speaking foreign language) [28:40] (laughs) President of France Jacques Chirac [28:44] goes to grab a beer at the famous [28:47] (speaking foreign language), and in the theater Reduta [28:52] the president Bill Clinton plays saxophone [28:55] made by Amati, and afterwards [28:59] grabs a beer at the (speaking foreign language) [29:04] with the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal. [29:08] (speaking foreign language) [29:16] And action movie hero Bruce Willis, [29:20] accompanied by his daughters, was getting lessons [29:24] on the Prague Castle's architectural jewels [29:27] directly from Vaclav Havel. [29:31] (speaking foreign language) [29:38] And then there was a meeting with the president [29:42] Barack Obama, the first African-American man [29:46] to hold this position, at a summit in Prague. [29:49] (speaking foreign language) [29:55] And there is still a red heart [29:59] shining over the Prague Castle. [30:02] (speaking foreign language) [30:13] I could continue like that forever [30:15] because these were really all [30:18] pleasant and extraordinary experiences. [30:22] However, documenting these events with a camera [30:26] was very difficult. [30:28] (speaking foreign language) [30:33] Vaclav Havel was a humble and shy guy, [30:36] and he did not like to be photographed. [30:40] (speaking foreign language) [30:46] The making up or pre-arranging [30:50] of some special shots was impossible. [30:54] (speaking foreign language) [30:58] And documenting events outside the protocol [31:02] was the most difficult task. [31:06] (speaking foreign language) [31:13] Vaclav Havel really enjoyed to surprise his guests [31:19] with some jokes or some out-of-ordinary experiences. [31:26] (speaking foreign language) [31:37] However, he did not wish these events to be photographed, [31:43] as he did not want anybody to think that he was doing it [31:47] only in order to create a special photo. [31:51] (speaking foreign language) [31:55] And he took all of these meetings [31:58] as a part of his tour of duty. [32:01] (speaking foreign language) [32:19] And his favorite photograph was not the one where he [32:24] was captured dancing rock and roll in the White House, [32:28] but the one where the NATO General Secretary Javier Solana [32:34] and President Clinton are congratulating him [32:37] on the occasion of the Czech Republic joining NATO [32:42] during its summit in Prague. [32:45] (speaking foreign language) [32:49] And I think that these days [32:52] everybody highly appreciates the great effort [32:56] that Vaclav Havel put in it. [33:01] (speaking foreign language) [33:34] Now I would like to turn your attention [33:38] to the photographs itself; like the first one [33:42] was taken not long before his death [33:47] in DOX Modern Museum of Art in Prague, [33:53] where there was an exhibition [33:54] called The Crimes of Communism, [33:58] and he was standing in front of the picture of Gustav Husak [34:04] and he was telling me that he is thinking about Gustav Husak [34:12] as a shadow that is still following him [34:16] and he can't get rid of him. [34:19] (speaking foreign language) [34:33] It's interesting that Lou Reed, who was one of the guests [34:36] at this exhibition, said, "I don't know who is this guy [34:42] "in the picture, but that's for me a stereotype [34:47] "of," like, "a Communist criminal." [34:54] (speaking foreign language) [35:09] Here in this picture, you can see [35:12] Vaclav Havel as a prisoner. [35:16] Vaclav Havel spent almost five years in prison, [35:19] and here you can see the pictures from the police archives. [35:26] (speaking foreign language) [35:38] He himself didn't like this part of his life [35:42] and he didn't want to talk about this part of his life, [35:47] and he was often making the stories [35:52] less serious than they were, [35:56] and I heard that his imprisonment was-- [36:03] (speaking foreign language) [36:09] That it was kind of like privileged imprisonment. [36:15] (speaking foreign language) [36:36] (laughing) [36:38] It's tough for me to translate, [36:40] but it wasn't true that his imprisonment would be easy, [36:45] like, he was imprisoned four times [36:49] and as his co-prisoners said, it was not easy at all. [36:56] Like, he always got very hard work [37:00] and as he was not used to doing such hard work, [37:04] he had really tough times fulfilling the norms. [37:11] (speaking foreign language) [37:27] And if he wasn't able to fulfill the norms [37:33] he would get heavily punished, [37:35] and these punishments also led to his future illnesses [37:44] and frequent pneumonias. [37:48] (speaking foreign language) [38:07] He had rare privileges, like one to mention would be [38:13] that from time to time he got a pack of cigarettes, [38:18] or during New Year's Eve they could watch TV [38:24] for a little while, but just in case [38:26] that there were more prisoners who chose the same program. [38:32] (speaking foreign language) [38:36] And he wanted to watch opera-- [38:42] Bartered Bride. Bartered Bride, [38:44] in Czech Prodana Nevesta. [38:47] (speaking foreign language) [38:56] And since he had enough cigarettes on disposal [39:01] he bribed (laughs) the other prisoners [39:04] to vote for the same (laughs) channel. [39:09] So that's how he got to see it. [39:14] (speaking foreign language) [39:24] With this picture we get to the Velvet Revolution itself, [39:30] and the slogan of the revolution was, "We have bare hands." [39:39] (speaking foreign language) [39:53] Here we can see Vaclav Havel and his wife Olga [39:57] at that crucial moment when he was deciding [40:01] whether he should enter the balcony and tell the crowd [40:06] that he is accepting the challenge. [40:14] (speaking foreign language) [40:20] This is a portrait of Vaclav Havel from November, 1989. [40:27] (speaking foreign language) [40:45] And that is the crucial moment [40:48] when the serious decision was made [40:51] that Vaclav Havel will accept the presidential challenge, [40:56] whereas his wife was against it, [40:59] so they went to the famous spa U Pinkasu [41:04] and there was this decision made. [41:12] (speaking foreign language) [41:21] And this is the famous shot from the balcony [41:24] where he is informing the crowds of people [41:31] that he is accepting the presidential challenge, or-- [41:38] Candidature? [41:41] Candidature, mmhmm. [41:43] (speaking foreign language) [41:56] Okay, we skipped a little bit in time [41:59] and here is Vaclav Havel signing his declaration [42:04] for his second presidential run. [42:12] (speaking foreign language) [42:18] This (laughs) portrait is called, [42:23] I call it "The Happy President." (laughs) [42:28] Satisfied president. (speaking foreign language) [42:47] (laughs) Although the situation [42:51] under which this photo was taken [42:54] was not that satisfying or happy, [42:57] because Vaclav Havel came back to his office [43:00] after longer sickness or illness, [43:04] and the head of his budget, [43:07] who was Vaclav Klaus at that time, [43:10] told him that the expenditures have to be cut. [43:19] (speaking foreign language) [43:31] So that's the first historical visit [43:33] of an American president, George Bush, in Prague. [43:41] (speaking foreign language) [43:58] So this is an interesting photo [44:01] because it's the first celebrity visit in Prague [44:07] in January, 1990. [44:12] (speaking foreign language) [44:18] I think you can recognize the lady [44:21] in the middle of the picture; it's Jane Fonda. [44:25] (speaking foreign language) [44:38] And the mayor of the city is ordering three beers. [44:43] (laughing) [44:46] (speaking foreign language) [45:01] The visit itself didn't end up so well [45:06] as this order, probably, (laughs) [45:08] because Jane Fonda had a plan; [45:13] while she came to Prague she wanted to buy and arrange-- [45:20] (speaking off camera) The filming, the author rights [45:24] for a movie about Vaclav Havel. [45:28] (speaking foreign language) (speaking off camera) [45:34] Oh, about the book Letters to Olga. [45:38] (speaking foreign language) [45:45] (laughing) [45:47] But she only read the title of the book, [45:48] and she didn't realize that it's a serious political talk [45:55] and not a romantic story like Anna Karenina. [46:00] (speaking foreign language) [46:02] So she left unsatisfied. [46:08] (speaking foreign language) [46:19] This picture is very precious because you can see [46:22] Vaclav Havel after 20 years on theater stage. [46:28] (speaking foreign language) [46:35] It is in the Prague theater Cinoherni klub [46:40] on the 14th of January, 1990, [46:44] and the play is called Audience. [46:48] (speaking foreign language) [46:56] And what is interesting about this playwright [47:02] is that this theater piece was co-financed by Paul Newman. [47:13] (speaking foreign language) [47:27] That's Frank Zappa and the music group [47:30] Plastic People of the Universe [47:32] having a concert together in Prague. [47:36] (speaking foreign language) [47:58] (laughing) It was interesting [47:59] that when the American underground musician Frank Zappa came [48:06] and he started playing with Mejla Hlavsa and Jirous, Magor, [48:12] he asked whether the police is not coming [48:17] and arresting them in the next moment. [48:21] (speaking foreign language) [48:35] Actually, the initial plan was that Vaclav Havel [48:39] will attend this concert, but the organization [48:42] of this event was somehow (laughs) not very successful, [48:46] so Vaclav Havel was not let in. [48:49] So Frank Zappa was quite disappointed. [48:55] (speaking foreign language) [49:01] And this is one of the most famous pictures, [49:04] when the Rolling Stones rolled in. [49:09] To Prague. To Prague. [49:11] (speaking foreign language) [49:26] It was also (laughs) amusing that when Mick Jagger [49:33] was walking with Vaclav Havel on the Charles Bridge, [49:38] he would ask him, "Where is the Prague Castle," [49:41] like "Did it disappear somewhere?" [49:45] (speaking foreign language) [49:55] We didn't quite get that at that moment [49:58] because we were all used to the fact [50:01] that Prague is dark in the evening, during the night, [50:06] and there was no lighting. [50:09] (speaking foreign language) [50:23] So the Rolling Stones were actually financing [50:26] the first study of-- [50:29] Say enlightening? (speaking off camera) [50:31] Illumination of the Prague Castle, [50:34] and this study was made by their professional-- [50:40] (speaking off camera) Light designers, [50:43] who had really great practice from their concerts. [50:48] (speaking foreign language) [50:58] And also, Rolling Stones designed and financed [51:02] the illumination of the biggest festive hall [51:08] at the Prague Castle, so-called Spanish Hall. [51:16] (speaking foreign language) [51:24] And now we can see the British queen [51:27] entering the illuminated Spanish Hall at the Prague Castle. [51:35] (speaking foreign language) [51:47] I also put this picture in the presentation [51:51] because it's interesting by the fact [51:54] that you could read in the novel Three Musketeers, [52:02] from Alexander Dumas-- (speaking foreign language) [52:06] Because she has the same diamonds, jewels, on her; [52:12] (speaking foreign language) [52:20] and she also has the Order of British Imperium? [52:27] Empire. Empire, [52:29] that she's talking very rarely on. [52:35] (speaking foreign language) [52:41] (laughing) [52:43] And this is my favorite famous picture [52:47] that I was not allowed to take picture of. [52:52] (speaking foreign language) [52:59] (laughs) I should serve as a bodyguard [53:03] who should be guarding the dog, [53:06] (speaking foreign language) [53:10] because the dog, called Dula, was the dog [53:14] of the wife of Vaclav Havel, Olga. [53:18] (speaking foreign language) [53:22] And his wife Olga was dead at that time already. [53:29] (speaking foreign language) [53:42] And Dula was a very nervous dog, because she lost her-- [53:47] Mama? Mistress, yeah. [53:49] Mistress. (laughs) [53:51] And there were all the time many people around her [53:53] and she was quite a problematic dog. [53:56] (speaking foreign language) [53:59] (laughing) And she-- [54:02] Bit. Bit many [54:05] famous celebrities. (laughing) [54:07] (speaking foreign language) [54:12] (laughs) For example, Francois Mitterrand was bit by her. [54:17] (speaking foreign language) [54:41] (laughs) And also interesting is the name of the dog, [54:44] because the dog was called after the first-- [54:50] (speaking off camera) [54:52] After the first Hungarian president, Dula... [54:57] (speaking foreign language) [55:06] How was he called, Dula? (speaking off camera) [55:11] The president? (speaking off camera) [55:13] Okay, he was called Dula, however, [55:15] and (laughs) when Olga got this dog [55:18] she said, "Oh, he looks like Dula." (laughs) [55:24] (speaking foreign language) [55:32] And the British queen was asking Vaclav Havel [55:35] where he has his dog. [55:38] (speaking foreign language) [55:44] And since Vaclav Havel knew that the British queen [55:48] loved the dogs, and she herself had many dogs, [55:52] (speaking foreign language) [56:00] and day to day, the British queen had many audiences [56:04] and boring meetings behind her, [56:08] (speaking foreign language) [56:15] so at the end of the day, Vaclav Havel decided [56:19] to make her day brighter and funnier [56:23] by making an audience of his own dog by the British queen. [56:29] (speaking foreign language) (laughing) [56:33] The whole office was of course scared, [56:38] fainting and scared about what might happen. [56:43] (speaking foreign language) [56:55] And, like, all diplomatic rules were broken by this audience [57:00] because usually the queen is offering an audience [57:06] and not that the queen is asked to give audience, [57:10] to a dog, especially. [57:13] (speaking foreign language) [57:23] And I was not allowed to take pictures, [57:26] but the press manager of the British queen [57:29] said, "Okay, let's take the picture right away." [57:34] (speaking foreign language) [57:47] And I was not allowed to make this picture public, [57:54] and I was only allowed to develop the picture [57:59] and send it to Britain. [58:03] (speaking foreign language) [58:20] (laughing) And after three weeks [58:23] there came this picture back to Prague, [58:26] with a note that this picture [58:31] is the only allowed picture breaking the protocol of rules [58:37] where the queen is showing Her Majesty knee. [58:42] (laughing) [58:45] (speaking foreign language) [58:55] The British queen told us at this point [58:58] that when she was a little child [59:01] she was taught several hours a day how to sit properly. [59:10] (speaking foreign language) (laughing) [59:27] I want to show you this picture also, [59:30] because it's a typical example [59:33] of, a nice picture of Vaclav Havel could be taken. [59:39] (speaking foreign language) [59:59] Because the official protocol asked the president [1:00:04] to have an official picture with an Order of White Lion [1:00:11] and in a jacket or tuxedo-- [1:00:16] (speaking foreign language) [1:00:22] (laughs) And when Vaclav Havel dressed up [1:00:25] and looked in the mirror, he said, "No way, [1:00:30] "I am not gonna make this picture." [1:00:34] (speaking foreign language) [1:00:37] So his wife Dasa, Dagmar, at that time, [1:00:42] asked me to go to him and ask him to do it somehow. [1:00:51] (speaking foreign language) [1:01:01] So I told him, "I will bring you your dog Dula, [1:01:06] "we will go to the Plecnik Hall, and you will have [1:01:10] "a perfect New Year's wish for Pavel Kohout." [1:01:16] (speaking foreign language) [1:01:27] Because they have been long-lasting friends [1:01:32] with the writer Pavel Kohout, and they had a special habit [1:01:36] of sending some amusing or funny [1:01:42] New Year's wishes every year. [1:01:45] (speaking foreign language) [1:01:53] (laughing) So I made this photo [1:01:54] really quickly, and then we exchanged the dog [1:01:57] for his wife Dasa. (laughing) [1:02:02] And so that's how this picture-- [1:02:05] (speaking off camera) Came to life. [1:02:11] (speaking foreign language) [1:02:18] And this is the picture in Havel's favorite place, [1:02:22] in his weekend house called Hradecek, [1:02:26] and this is on a walk with his dogs, [1:02:34] or with their dogs. [1:02:37] (speaking foreign language) [1:02:39] This is Vaclav Havel was his friend, Dalai Lama. [1:02:42] (speaking foreign language) [1:02:51] And here you can see the famous little carpet [1:02:55] of Dalai Lama, which was a present [1:02:57] from Dalai Lama to Vaclav Havel. [1:03:00] (speaking foreign language) [1:03:10] So when Hillary Clinton came to Prague to visit, [1:03:15] she also wanted to see this carpet [1:03:17] and get some energy out of that. [1:03:22] (speaking foreign language) [1:03:41] At that time, when the press manager of Hillary Clinton, [1:03:47] or of the presidential couple, found out [1:03:50] which picture was taken, he was quite desperate, [1:03:55] and he said that this picture can't come public [1:04:01] because the First Lady shouldn't show the sympathy [1:04:06] to Dalai Lama at that time. [1:04:09] (speaking foreign language) [1:04:17] So this is the Clintons welcoming [1:04:21] Vaclav Havel in White House. [1:04:24] (speaking foreign language) [1:04:28] And this is the famous picture [1:04:30] called Rock 'n' Roll in White House. [1:04:33] (speaking foreign language) [1:04:41] This dance came after a concert [1:04:46] of Lou Reed and Mejla Hlavsa from Plastic People [1:04:50] of the Universe. (speaking foreign language) [1:04:58] And they opened their concert by a favorite song, [1:05:04] called The Best is the-- (speaking off camera) [1:05:10] Marital Sex is the Best. Marital Sex is the Best. [1:05:13] (speaking off camera) (laughing) [1:05:17] (speaking foreign language) [1:05:38] The audience was really rich on celebrities, [1:05:43] like (speaking foreign language), Madeleine Albright, [1:05:48] Stevie Wonder, Henry Kissinger-- [1:05:53] (speaking foreign language) [1:06:03] And Madeleine Albright was the first to ask Henry Kissinger [1:06:07] to dance, and afterwards everybody followed. [1:06:14] (speaking foreign language) [1:06:40] Actually, this is the picture [1:06:41] of welcoming John Paul II in Prague. [1:06:48] (mumbles) saying that in the year 1979, [1:06:52] when Vaclav Havel was arrested for the first time, [1:06:57] John Paul would come to Poland-- [1:07:01] (speaking foreign language) [1:07:12] And Vaclav Havel was very desperate [1:07:14] that there is already something going on in Poland [1:07:18] and still nothing going on in Czechoslovakia. [1:07:22] (speaking foreign language) [1:07:30] And when John Paul II came for the first time [1:07:35] to Czechoslovakia, the people would call, "It's a miracle." [1:07:43] (speaking foreign language) [1:07:45] And Vaclav Havel said, "Yes, it is a miracle." [1:07:52] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:00] And it's the famous invitation for Dalai Lama [1:08:04] to drink tea at Havel's place. [1:08:08] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:15] It's the Japan Emperor-- [1:08:20] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:22] Jacques Chirac drinking beer. [1:08:25] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:30] Vaclav Havel was a big admirer and fan of Gina Lollobrigida. [1:08:35] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:43] And Gina Lollobrigida by herself [1:08:46] also did pictures and took photographs of famous people. [1:08:51] (speaking foreign language) [1:08:55] But she was so nervous of Vaclav Havel [1:08:58] that she was not able to take pictures by herself. [1:09:01] (speaking foreign language) [1:09:05] Because as a right Italian lady [1:09:08] she came too late to the audience at Vaclav Havel's place. [1:09:13] (speaking foreign language) [1:09:19] So she actually came in the gap [1:09:23] when there was supposed to be [1:09:24] the Estonian president already. [1:09:27] (speaking foreign language) [1:09:31] And she told him, she's very nervous [1:09:33] and she can't take pictures by herself. [1:09:36] (speaking foreign language) [1:09:39] (laughing) So he told her [1:09:41] that he's a-- Amateur. [1:09:46] Amateur photograph by himself, [1:09:48] and he will try to do it for her. [1:09:52] (speaking foreign language) [1:09:55] But Vaclav Havel was really happy that he met her. [1:09:59] (speaking foreign language) [1:10:02] This is the sightseeing for Bruce Willis and his daughters. [1:10:07] (speaking foreign language) [1:10:13] (laughing) And the daughters [1:10:14] were more excited of Sparta Football Club [1:10:18] than from the Prague Castle. [1:10:23] (speaking foreign language) [1:10:26] And this is Michael Jackson in the Spanish Hall. [1:10:30] (speaking foreign language) [1:10:33] This is the Brandenburger Tor, Gate. [1:10:36] (speaking foreign language) [1:10:39] Yeah, Oxford, (crosstalk drowns out speaker) [1:10:43] (speaking foreign language) [1:11:06] When Vaclav Havel was visiting Great Britain [1:11:09] he was supposed to meet Salman Rushdie, [1:11:12] but the British police said that it's too big security risk [1:11:18] and the meeting was canceled. [1:11:22] (speaking foreign language) [1:11:32] But because Vaclav Havel was always very stubborn, [1:11:36] he wanted to meet Salman Rushdie, [1:11:40] so he asked his friend Tom Stoppard [1:11:43] and he arranged this meeting in his own private apartment. [1:11:50] (speaking foreign language) [1:11:53] This is Umberto Eco in Prague. (speaking foreign language) [1:12:00] And that's the famous trumpet from Amati Kraslice [1:12:05] that we were talking about earlier. [1:12:09] (speaking foreign language) [1:12:14] And this is the Order of White Lion for Mikhail Gorbachev. [1:12:21] (speaking foreign language) [1:12:43] When Vaclav Havel was meeting Gorbachev in Moscow, [1:12:49] he brought him as a present a peace pipe from American-- [1:12:56] Native Americans, and he wanted [1:13:01] to smoke a peace pipe with him. [1:13:04] (speaking foreign language) [1:13:08] And Gorbachev answered, "Thank you, I am a nonsmoker." [1:13:13] (laughing) (speaking foreign language) [1:13:20] And Vaclav Havel told me that throughout the whole audience [1:13:28] he was thinking about whether it was a joke [1:13:32] of if Gorbachev is that stupid. [1:13:35] (laughing) [1:13:37] (speaking foreign language) [1:13:53] (speaking foreign language) [1:13:59] This is the only picture that Vaclav Havel [1:14:03] asked me to do for him. [1:14:07] (speaking foreign language) [1:14:10] When we were walking through Central Park in New York, [1:14:15] (speaking foreign language) [1:14:18] he stepped up on a-- [1:14:24] Pedestal? Vacant. [1:14:26] Vacant. Pedestal. [1:14:28] Pedestal. (speaking foreign language) [1:14:34] And said, "Please take this picture [1:14:37] "as my message to the future." [1:14:41] (speaking foreign language) [1:14:44] (laughs) And don't make a statue of me. [1:14:47] It would look such a stupid as this one. [1:14:51] (laughing) [1:14:54] (speaking foreign language) [1:15:08] But despite his wishes, Vaclav Havel has his statue [1:15:12] in the Capitol of United States. [1:15:19] (speaking foreign language) [1:15:21] (applause) (translator laughs)
[99:59:59.999]

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Alan Pajer: Photographing Václav Havel

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