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Harry Smith: The Avant-Garde in the American Vernacular
Filmmaker, musicologist, painter, ethnographer, graphic designer, mystic, and collector of string figures and other patterns, Harry Smith (1923–1991) was among the most original creative forces in postwar American art and culture, yet his life and work remain poorly understood. Today he is remembered primarily for his Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)—an idiosyncratic collection of early recordings that educated and inspired a generation of musicians and roots music fans—and for a body of innovative abstract and nonnarrative films. Constituting a first attempt to locate Smith and his diverse endeavors within the history of avant-garde art production in twentieth-century America, the essays in this volume reach across Smith’s artistic oeuvre. In addition to contributions by Paul Arthur, Robert Cantwell, Thomas Crow Stephen Fredman, Stephen Hinton, Greil Marcus, Annette Michelson, William Moritz, and P. Adams Sitney, the volume contains numerous illustrations of Smith’s works and a selection of his letters and other primary sources.
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 6, 2010
Bound Miami SunPost February 4, 2010
Miami Sunpost http://miamisunpost.com/themorgue/201... (p19)
True Blue Bohemian
Harry Smith Was Unlike Any Other Ever
John Hood
To say that Harry Smith was an ethnomusicologist would be true, but it would only be a small portion of a very much larger truth. Yes, back in ’52, Smith did compile, produce and design The Anthology of American Folk Music, which became “the Bible” for folks like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. And, as everyone concurs, the six-album, 84-song set was basically responsible for launching the Folk Movement of the ‘60s. But that landmark compilation was only a fraction of what Smith did in and for the world. Though its essence is very much indicative of the kind of mind he was.
Reading Harry Smith: The Avant Garde in the American Vernacular (Getty Research Institute $35) one is reminded of the man’s multi-facets. But even after reading as comprehensive a book as this, one gets the impression that no amount ink will even encompass his entirety.
Based on major symposia held at the Getty in 2001 and 2002, the work collects essays from some of the art world’s most recognized experts. Paul Arthur, ex of Film Comment and Cineaste and co-editor of Millennium Film Journal, and a filmmaker in his own right, clips in with “The Onus of Representation: Harry Smith, Mahagonny, and Avant-Garde Film in the ‘70s.” Thomas Crow, contributing editor to Artforum and essayist of such figures as Gordon Matta-Clark and Robert Smithson, paints us “Folk into Art: A Phenomena of Class and Culture in Twentieth Century America.” And Greil Marcus, author or numerous books, including The Shape of Things to Come (’06), The Old, Weird America (’97) and Lipstick Traces (’89), scribbles up “Uncle Dave Macon: Agent of Satan?”
But experts aren’t the only ones to herald the man, the myth and the legend that was Harry Smith. Robert Frank called Smith “the only true genius he ever met;” Kenneth Anger said he was “the greatest living magician;” and Patti Smith (no relation), who came up under his tutelage, appeared in his films and included Harry in her recently released Just Kids, dug the wonderworker so much she just spent three nights bouncing around LA singing and speaking about his life and his legacy.
But more than the writings included in this anthology are the copious illustrations, which do more to cement Smith’s impact than any dozen essays, no matter how expertly they’re rendered. Film stills, charts, graphs, drawings, paintings and photographs, each more compelling than the last, tell a tale of a cat as engaged with the occult as he was immersed in bohemia. A man who saw things no one else dared even dream, and put those visions to work. And if what I’ve eluded to doesn’t sway you, perhaps his designation will; that is, if one can call “filmmaker, musicologist, anthropologist, ethnographer, collector of string figures and patterns” a simple designation.
No, they don’t make them like Harry Smith anymore; chances are they never really had. He was the true blue bohemian, a man with boundless curiosity and immense inspiration. As Andrew Perchuk quotes T.J. Clark in his essay “Struggle and Structure,” ‘the real history of the avant-garde is the history of those who bypassed, ignored and rejected it; a history of secrecy and isolation.’ And if that’s the case (as surely it must be) then this devoutly composed monograph brings one of its masters to great good light.
Essential Links:
Harry Smith Archives:
www.harrysmitharchives.com
The Avant Garde in American Vernacular: www.getty.edu/bookstore/titles/smith....
Getty Museum Symposium: www.getty.edu/research/scholarly_acti...
Miami Sunpost http://miamisunpost.com/themorgue/201... (p19)
True Blue Bohemian
Harry Smith Was Unlike Any Other Ever
John Hood
To say that Harry Smith was an ethnomusicologist would be true, but it would only be a small portion of a very much larger truth. Yes, back in ’52, Smith did compile, produce and design The Anthology of American Folk Music, which became “the Bible” for folks like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. And, as everyone concurs, the six-album, 84-song set was basically responsible for launching the Folk Movement of the ‘60s. But that landmark compilation was only a fraction of what Smith did in and for the world. Though its essence is very much indicative of the kind of mind he was.
Reading Harry Smith: The Avant Garde in the American Vernacular (Getty Research Institute $35) one is reminded of the man’s multi-facets. But even after reading as comprehensive a book as this, one gets the impression that no amount ink will even encompass his entirety.
Based on major symposia held at the Getty in 2001 and 2002, the work collects essays from some of the art world’s most recognized experts. Paul Arthur, ex of Film Comment and Cineaste and co-editor of Millennium Film Journal, and a filmmaker in his own right, clips in with “The Onus of Representation: Harry Smith, Mahagonny, and Avant-Garde Film in the ‘70s.” Thomas Crow, contributing editor to Artforum and essayist of such figures as Gordon Matta-Clark and Robert Smithson, paints us “Folk into Art: A Phenomena of Class and Culture in Twentieth Century America.” And Greil Marcus, author or numerous books, including The Shape of Things to Come (’06), The Old, Weird America (’97) and Lipstick Traces (’89), scribbles up “Uncle Dave Macon: Agent of Satan?”
But experts aren’t the only ones to herald the man, the myth and the legend that was Harry Smith. Robert Frank called Smith “the only true genius he ever met;” Kenneth Anger said he was “the greatest living magician;” and Patti Smith (no relation), who came up under his tutelage, appeared in his films and included Harry in her recently released Just Kids, dug the wonderworker so much she just spent three nights bouncing around LA singing and speaking about his life and his legacy.
But more than the writings included in this anthology are the copious illustrations, which do more to cement Smith’s impact than any dozen essays, no matter how expertly they’re rendered. Film stills, charts, graphs, drawings, paintings and photographs, each more compelling than the last, tell a tale of a cat as engaged with the occult as he was immersed in bohemia. A man who saw things no one else dared even dream, and put those visions to work. And if what I’ve eluded to doesn’t sway you, perhaps his designation will; that is, if one can call “filmmaker, musicologist, anthropologist, ethnographer, collector of string figures and patterns” a simple designation.
No, they don’t make them like Harry Smith anymore; chances are they never really had. He was the true blue bohemian, a man with boundless curiosity and immense inspiration. As Andrew Perchuk quotes T.J. Clark in his essay “Struggle and Structure,” ‘the real history of the avant-garde is the history of those who bypassed, ignored and rejected it; a history of secrecy and isolation.’ And if that’s the case (as surely it must be) then this devoutly composed monograph brings one of its masters to great good light.
Essential Links:
Harry Smith Archives:
www.harrysmitharchives.com
The Avant Garde in American Vernacular: www.getty.edu/bookstore/titles/smith....
Getty Museum Symposium: www.getty.edu/research/scholarly_acti...
January 28, 2019
One of the essential books on Harry. And the study of Harry is one of the essential subjects for all artists. Harry was an artist’s artist. He had a wide ranging influence on artists and musicians of all stripes. A true visionary, he was the most open minded person I’ve ever met. He could cut to the essence of any subject under discussion; and to quote Harry, “There is no subject that I have not studied.”
This book provides a good overview of the man and his work. Don’t wholly believe what any-one-person or article has to say, you need to read about what (everyone) has to say... see his films... listen to the records... read the other books and articles that are available... to begin to get a picture of the man’s vast intellect and reach.
This book provides a good overview of the man and his work. Don’t wholly believe what any-one-person or article has to say, you need to read about what (everyone) has to say... see his films... listen to the records... read the other books and articles that are available... to begin to get a picture of the man’s vast intellect and reach.
March 17, 2013
Harry Smith is a dumpster angel genius and I love him.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews