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So sad to hear of the death of Carolee Schneemann, the pioneering American performance artist famous for works like Meat Joy and Interior Scroll. I have a story. As a living legend, Schneemann spent a lot of time on the lecture circuit. When she spoke at Auckland Art Gallery in 2000, I was her gopher. She outlined my key task: ‘Robert, five minutes into my lecture I will snap, “Robert, where’s my water?” Then, you will bring to the lectern a large tumbler of neat vodka and apologise. You will say, “Sorry Carolee, here’s your water.”’ Which I did. It was my pleasure, but it was hard to keep a straight face.
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