Sir Ivan: EDM's Warrior for Peace in the Hamptons

At one point, if you mentioned Ivan Wilzig, most would have immediately thought of the castle he built 25 years ago along with his brother, Alan Wilzig.

The castle is undoubtedly spectacular with its enormous gates, moat, gargoyles, dragons and griffons. Modern amenities include an infinity pool, volleyball, tennis and basketball courts, plus medieval-themed pinball machines. It has hosted a range of parties from Hugh Hefner-esque bashes to fundraisers to “intimate” get-togethers, if hundreds of guests can be called intimate.

“It is the only castle in the Hamptons,” Wilzig says of his massive home in Water Mill.

While the castle is still there, Wilzig is now better known as “Sir Ivan,” aka “Peaceman,” an acclaimed electronic dance music artist and philanthropist whose mantra is “Peace of Mind for All Humankind.” His charity, the Peaceman Foundation, supports other nonprofit organizations that treat and seek cures for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Wilzig, 67, was born in Clifton, New Jersey, and has two siblings. After graduating from law school, he joined his father, Siggi B. Wilzig, in the family banking business. He takes great pride in what his father built, especially because he was a Holocaust survivor who, after liberation, came to this country penniless and with only a grammar school education. It was through hard work and determination that he was able to acquire companies, which he ultimately grew into a multibillion-dollar empire.

Ivan Wilzig spent 20 years in the family business, but a little over 20 years ago, he turned to his passion, electronic dance music (EDM).

Following his creative passions was the right decision. Wilzig has been extremely successful, and his triumphs as Sir Ivan include the first-ever, high-energy dance remake of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” He carved his niche early on in his career as a singer-songwriter and used his passion for peace as inspiration to focus on remaking all the iconic peace and anti-war songs of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Some of the songs Sir Ivan has recreated include “Get Together” by The Youngbloods, “Happy Together” by The Turtles and his most recent release, “Love Is All Around” by The Troggs, which has been his most streamed to date. Sir Ivan has a total of 18 songs in his catalog, one of which includes an original collaboration with famed EDM producer Paul Oakenfold. “Kiss All the Bullies Good-Bye” was created to address teen bullying and the high suicide rate among LGBTQ youth.

He has used his status in the music industry to further his efforts for human rights, universal love and peace. His artistic endeavors don’t end with music. He is also known as the current owner of Wilzig Erotic Art Museum (WEAM), formerly known as the World Erotic Art Museum, which his mother, Naomi Wilzig, started. She curated the largest private collection of fine erotic art in the United States.

“She left it to my brother, sister and me,” he says of the museum in Miami, where he spends half the year at his home in South Beach. The museum is associated with educational institutions such as the Kinsey Institute (affiliated with the University of Indiana), the Sex Education Department at Humboldt University in Berlin and the Fine Arts Department at Florida International University.

Just as with other genres of art, Wilzig explains that erotic art is a snapshot of cultural history. He adds that while the exhibits may arouse someone, it is not the intention.

“There are over 5,000 pieces,” he says. “It is sexual art, but not pornographic. The artists are talented, and the work is complicated. The art is detailed and full of hidden taboos and meanings. The collection spans from antiquity to modern day. If you study erotic art, you can understand what was happening in culture at the time, where people’s heads were regarding sex.”

Through his Peaceman Foundation, Wilzig is a well-known philanthropist whose focus includes anti-bullying, fighting against anti-Semitism, protecting LGBTQ+ individuals and abused women, and all sorts of trauma, including soldiers coming home from wartime.

“PTSD can manifest itself in so many ways. It could be something like nightmares and flashbacks,” he says. “So many people are afflicted that it is almost normalized.”

Wilzig’s latest project is having his father’s biography Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig’s Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend adapted for television.

“His story is inspirational,” Wilzig says of his decision to tell his father’s story to a broader audience. “There are vital lessons the book teaches, especially if you’re an immigrant or someone who has endured great hardship or suffering. They read the book and say, ‘If Siggi could be successful after all he went through, then so can I.”

The book also has painful parts, including that the Wilzigs lost 59 family members during the Holocaust. Siggi B. Wilzig taught his three children never to stop fighting against anti-Semitism and acts of hatred.

“Evil hasn’t been eradicated,” says Wilzig, who spent 10 years working on the biography with his sister and author Joshua M. Greene.

“All genocide starts with verbal insults, rises to physical bullying, then violence, then homicide, then mass murder,” Wilzig states.

Wilzig says he hopes the TV series will be both hopeful and instructive.

“Six million Jews were killed, including 1.5 million children,” he says. “One has to take immediate action when one sees injustice and evil in the world. We all must remember that next time, it might not be Jews. It could be anyone.”

To learn more about Sir Ivan, go to sirivan.com. For more info about his father Siggi B. Wilzig’s incredible true story, go to unstoppablesiggi.com.

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.