Guy Lochhead, 14/12/10
American artist, filmmaker, collector and eccentric who was involved in pretty much all forms of the American avant-garde between the late-’40s and late-’70s. Described as “the greatest living magician” by the filmmaker Kenneth Anger, his practice spanned disciplines and genres, united by a common magic(k)al theme. He painted huge visualisations of jazz; hand-painted abstract films to fit with contemporary music; compiled the ‘Anthology of American Folk Music’ from his personal collection of recordings of Depression-era songs; gave some of the early Beat poets exposure; recorded The Fugs’ first album; field-recorded Kiowa Peyote, Lummi and Samish Indian songs; collected Ukrainian Easter eggs, paper aeroplanes and Seminole quilts; and spoke on a wide variety of subjects, from molecular physics to the occult, alchemy to Thelema.. He died in the Chelsea Hotel in 1991, apparently singing in the arms of the artist Paola Igliori. Smith is a unique and intimidating figure, for sure, and I think it’s pretty brilliant that someone can exist on the fringes of society for so long, but his interest in the occult, shamanism, parapsychology etc. fundamentally undermine any of his other achievements for me. His worldview borrowed from all sorts of theories and beliefs, drawing parallels between science and superstition that simply don’t exist (though some do). The films, paintings etc. are his least interesting achievements. He said they were made to complement his favourite music but people persist in analysing them as investigations of the subconcious because Harry Smith was the “other”. Artists love him because he’s a weirdo, but I think his weirdness gets in the way of the contributions he made as a preserver and anthologist. The Anthology of American Folk Music is an incredible resource but to me it’s diminished by the amount Smith forces himself upon it, in his little track descriptions and cover artwork. It’s the songs themselves that are interesting, not Smith. It’s still worth including as a relic of the ’27-’32 period when electronic recording became available, but before labels picked up on the potential of regional music sales. I’ll try to include the ’60s Folkway versions with the farmer on the front rather than Smith’s magical drawings…