On June 24, 1977, Documenta 6 in Kassel opened with the first live international satellite telecast by artists. Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys, Charlotte Moorman, and Douglas Davis collaborated in the performance that was broadcast live in over twenty-five countries. In the telecast, Russell Connor in New York introduces the performance and cuts back to host Peter Iden, broadcasting live from the studio in Kassel. While the telecast’s use of satellite technology was still at the basic level of connecting different locations, it is notable in that it showcases a wide variety of Paik’s key performances, and serves as a precursor of the satellite trilogy Paik would go on to create in the late 1980s, namely Good Morning Mr. Orwell (1984), Bye Bye Kipling (1986), and Wrap Around the World (1988).
– Excerpt from Nam June Paik on Stage (2013) Exhibition Catalog
Documenta 6 Satellite Telecast