Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music
Moses Asch had a high tolerance for eccentrics; he valued those people who had a strong sense of individuality, who refused to conform to "group" standards.
A loner himself, he understood that it took considerable nerve to live by your own standards and to create your own aesthetic world.
Of all the eccentrics who came to work with Asch over the years, none was more eccentric than legendary filmmaker, anthropologist, folklorist, and philosopher Harry Smith (1923-1991), who
created the legendary Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)—although his intentions upon meeting Asch were somewhat less grandiose. Smith was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest.
His parents were students of Theosophy, a turn-of-the-century quasi-religious movement that included a fascination with folk rituals and spiritualism.
His mother taught on an Indian reservation, and Smith developed a lifelong interest in Indian culture. (Smith's 1964 recording of an all-night peyote ritual was issued by Folkways as a two-LP set.)
After briefly attending college as an anthropology major, Smith settled in San Francisco. He became interested in filmmaking and painting, and befriended many other avant-garde artists.
As a hobby, he also began collecting early 78 recordings, which were available cheaply in junk shops and secondhand stores throughout the Bay Area. (The recent introduction of the LP and the end of wartime rationing had led to large-scale dumping of earlier 78s.)
Smith was particularly interested in foreign and American regional musics that he had never heard before. In 1950, Smith was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to study painting in New York. He spent all of his money on travel and had little cash left on arrival.
However, he did have a major asset, his 78 collection, and he began to ask around to see if he could a buyer for it.
A fellow collector recommended Moses Asch. Ache was not interested but he recognised its value its value as a document of American music. He urged Smith to consider compiling it into a series of records. He provided workspace for Smith and a small stipend and set him free to conceive of the items anyway he thought fit.
Moses Asch had a high tolerance for eccentrics; he valued those people who had a strong sense of individuality, who refused to conform to "group" standards.
A loner himself, he understood that it took considerable nerve to live by your own standards and to create your own aesthetic world.
Of all the eccentrics who came to work with Asch over the years, none was more eccentric than legendary filmmaker, anthropologist, folklorist, and philosopher Harry Smith (1923-1991), who
created the legendary Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)—although his intentions upon meeting Asch were somewhat less grandiose. Smith was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest.
His parents were students of Theosophy, a turn-of-the-century quasi-religious movement that included a fascination with folk rituals and spiritualism.
His mother taught on an Indian reservation, and Smith developed a lifelong interest in Indian culture. (Smith's 1964 recording of an all-night peyote ritual was issued by Folkways as a two-LP set.)
After briefly attending college as an anthropology major, Smith settled in San Francisco. He became interested in filmmaking and painting, and befriended many other avant-garde artists.
As a hobby, he also began collecting early 78 recordings, which were available cheaply in junk shops and secondhand stores throughout the Bay Area. (The recent introduction of the LP and the end of wartime rationing had led to large-scale dumping of earlier 78s.)
Smith was particularly interested in foreign and American regional musics that he had never heard before. In 1950, Smith was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to study painting in New York. He spent all of his money on travel and had little cash left on arrival.
However, he did have a major asset, his 78 collection, and he began to ask around to see if he could a buyer for it.
A fellow collector recommended Moses Asch. Ache was not interested but he recognised its value its value as a document of American music. He urged Smith to consider compiling it into a series of records. He provided workspace for Smith and a small stipend and set him free to conceive of the items anyway he thought fit.
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