Full Description
An unusual collection of writing by and about mystic artist Harry Smith
• Explores in depth the occult and mystical side of Smith—his "heaven and earth magic"—focusing on how his varied artistic efforts were part of a comprehensive magical and alchemical practice
• Includes unpublished photos of and letters from Smith, rare interviews, one of his unpublished texts, and essays by scholars and friends
Harry Smith (1923-1991) was a legendary twentieth-century artist, filmmaker, painter, anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, and archivist. Especially well known for his Anthology of American Folk Music, innovative abstract realms, and extraordinary collection of paper airplanes now housed at the Getty Research Institute, Smith also had a deep esoteric and mystical side, with experimentation in magic, Tarot, Kabbalah, and other occult practices. Like other alchemists, Smith's life mission was to create a unified work from disparate elements, a synthesis of correspondences between seemingly unrelated topics—from music, string figures, and Seminole patterns to the relationship between sound and film imagery.
Presenting the most diverse collection of writings about Harry Smith, this volume explores the far-ranging esoteric themes that run throughout his art and career. The book includes never-before-seen photos, rare interviews, personal letters, and an unpublished text by Harry Smith, The 96 Apparitions of the 96 Alchemical Formulae (1 to 36), as well as personal reminiscences from Smith's friends and former students. Smith's groundbreaking mystical wisdom, "heaven and earth magic," and influence as an artist of the extremes leap from the pages in this book, confirming his contribution to art, music, film, and modern alchemy.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Heaven and Earth Magic:
Harry Smith the Alchemist at Work
Peter Valente
1 Mystic Traveler: Thoughts on Harry Smith
Raymond Foye
2 Harry Stays with Henry for a While
M. Henry Jones
3 Harry Smith and the Indians:
Teaching Film Direction in the Sixties
Marc Berger
4 Harry Smith: The Alchemy of Caprice
Scott Feero
5 Intention, Vision, and Action:
My Time with Harry Smith
Paola Igliori
6 The First Surrealist in New York City
Srijita Banerjee
7 Harry Smith on the Holy City:
From Boulder to Kathmandu
Darrin Daniel
8 Hanging out with Harry Smith at Naropa:
A Collection of Fictional Anecdotes
Rob Pacheco
9 The Women in Harry Smith's Early World
Bret Lunsford
10 Harry Smith's Alchemy and Magic
Charles Stein
11 Harry Smith: Cosmic Collage
Maggie Corrigan
12 The Tree with Roots: Why Harry Smith's Anthology
Is Such a Big Deal
Mike McGonigal
13 Remembering Harry Smith: A Conversation with
Steven Taylor, Harry's Friend and Colleague at Naropa
Interview Conducted at Naropa University
by Ariella Ruth during the Summer of 2011
14 At Naropa with Harry Smith (1989-1991)
Tom Banger
15 Automatic Synchronization:
Music and Image in the Films of Harry Smith
David Chapman
16 Backstage of a Glyph: The Structure of
Harry Smith's Mahagonny
Rose Marcus
17 Visionary Charlatan: Harry Smith's Way-Out Science
of Thought Forms
Ed Hamilton
18 A Yoyo Shaped Like a Hamburger, or The World
According to Harry Smith
Beth Borrus
19 The Paradoxical Life of the Artist Harry Smith
John Szwed
20 You're the One Who Signs the Checks!:
When Harry Lived with Allen Ginsberg
Bob Rosenthal
21 Harry Smith's Universal (Digital) String Figure
Henry Adam Svec
22 String Figures, Not Cat's Cradles
Marc Berger
23 Like a Talisman for the Guardian Angel:
What I Learned from Studying Harry Smith's Work
Peter Valente
24 Essays on Harry Smith's Tree of Life
in the Four Worlds
James Wasserman and Khem Caigan
25 Harry Taught Me How to Be a Complete Human Being
Pesach Betzalel (Peter Fleishman) Interviewed by
Zia Ziprin (2022)
26 A Short History of the Installation
Harry Smith: A Re-Creation
M. Henry Jones and Friends
27 Correlating Irrationalities in The Moving Maths
of Harry Smith: Essay on Harry Smith's
The 96 Apparitions of 96 Alchemical Formulae
(1 to 36), with the Original Text
Robert Podgurski
28 Unlocking the Secrets of the Unseen Universe:
Essays on Harry Smith's Letter to Arthur M. Young
(August 30, 1960)
Kathy Goss and Elliot Wolfson, PhD
29 Harry Smith Live: Three Interviews with Harry Smith
Harry Smith Interviewed by Dawn-Michelle Baude
(Boulder, Colorado, 1988)
A Conversation with Harry Smith Recorded at His
Naropa Cottage on December 18, 1988
Interview from Cantrills Filmnotes, No. 19
(October, 1974)
References
Index
