THE ANIMATION OF HARRY SMITH

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THE ANIMATION OF HARRY SMITH
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HARRYS UNUSUAL LIFE

• Born 1923, Portland, Oregon
• Parents active in occultism
• -Claimed to be son of Aleister Crowley
• Compiled dictionary of Puget Sound Dialects
• A collector of Seminole textiles and Ukrainian
  Easter Eggs
• Produced and recorded The Fugs

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Continued

• proficient in Kiowa sign-language and Kwakiutl
• Compiled the Anthology of American Folk Music.
• Lived with Native American Indians
• Recorded peyote songs of Kiowa Indians.
• He was a friend of Allen Ginsberg

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Anthology of American Folk Music

• 84 tracks
• Inspired the folk revival of the 50s and 60s.
• 1997 reissue won 2 Grammys
• Inspired Bob Dylan
• Indian War Hoop is my favorite.

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Harry Smith was also a fine artist.
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ANIMATION
Developed his own methods of animation, using
stop motion collage techniques and, more
uniquely, hand-painting directly on film.
Often a single film required years of
painstakingly precise labor. Fusion of color
and sound are acknowledged as precursors of
sixties psychedelia. His art explored
synaethesia, a correspondence between color and
sound and sound and movement.