Thanks! to Patrick Lichty

Reflections on Nik Williams

I first knew who Nik was when he became the consultant for the Beecher Center for the Electronic Arts in nearby Youngstown, Ohio. To me, he was a shadowy figure who came from New York for occasional meetings regarding the construction of the nascent center. That's all I knew about him, a title and a name.

1997 - Chicago: I was in town for the ISEA conference, and had decided to take in a panel on Information Architecture organized by Peter Anders. It was late in the day, and only about six people had showed up. In an auditorium that seated 2500. Towards the end of the panel, Nik got up, introduced himself, and began to speak on one of the latest VR projects he had been developing. It seemed odd to me that at the time I was trying to find him, that I would go to a panel that no one seemed to be interested in, only to meet a group of who I wanted to meet in the first place, Nik being one of them. Life seems to have those little twists to it.

That's how it began. Mainly because of distance, I can't say that we were overly close, but I considered him a good colleague. We would correspond periodically, with much of the conversation centering about the Beecher Center. I was always impressed with his vision and drive, in that I am also an artist who has had to deal with medical problems while striving for excellence. But most of all, the thing that I respected about him was his New York directness. What he said might not have been what I wanted to hear, but he told me anyway with no expectation of hard feelings (or maybe he just didn't care if he offended me...).

I wish I had known Nik better. He was good to bounce ideas off of, and was interested in my input on matters. He had a good mind, and helped put together a center with a lot of potential. It would have been nice to have had the opportunity of his company a bit more.

I wish him well.

Patrick Lichty, 1999