ray gallon: nam juna paik a work for radio

This hour-long compositional documentary was produced for the CBC Radio Series "Signature," and was originally broadcast on April 28, 1979. It was nominated for an ACTRA award for best radio documentary of the year. It is the result of a remarkable creative collaboration by artists such as John Cage, Charlotte Moorman, Philip Corner, and Nam June Paik himself with the author. Interspersed throughout the portrait are audio realizations by Ray Gallon of conceptual works by Nam June Paik. Thanks also to Lorne Tulk for remarkable engineering and creative contributions, and to Digby Peers for the courage to broadcast it. Ray Gallon has been a communicator for over 40 years, half of that time as a radio producer and audio artist. Although he had a classical music education, Ray gravitated early towards the avant-garde, and was fascinated by musique concrète, electronic music, so-called progressive jazz, and the multi-track experiments of the rock revolution in the '60s. His first exposure, on television, to the work of John Cage came very close to the moment when he wandered into a cinema by chance, and saw Fellini's 8 1/2. The one-two punch of these experiences left him delirious for the rest of his life. As a radio producer, he has worked in almost every department at CBC Radio except hard news. He was nurtured by Glenn Gould's experiments with "compositional documentaries," and developed his own style, inspired by Gould's work. In the late '80s, Ray's focus turned towards new media, communications art, and computers. After moving to France in 1992, he continued to produce audio art and radio while teaching courses in new media and working as a technical communicator. Ray is currently a researcher with The Transformation Society, and shares his life between Barcelona, Spain, and the Languedoc region of France.