Introduction to Bojangles

Narrator: Three years after his last major installation in a European museum, Thek received a letter stating that the museum could no longer afford to store his work. He responded angrily.

Paul Thek [Ed Burns]: Can’t you educate your museum friends . . . of the IMPORTANCE of these shows? . . . Can’t you educate them so that they will become willing to spend some few thousands of [dollars] for a show that does NOT remain, that is NOT purchaseable, that CANNOT be resold? This is the POINT.

Narrator: Once a champion of ephemeral art, it was now painful for Thek to see his work—and his legacy—disappear. In fact, managing the army of people required to make the installations had become stressful, and Thek was already moving in a new direction. He made small paintings and sculptures. For the first time he worked in bronze, a material that can survive thousands of years.