Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Mary Lee Hu, 2009 March 18-19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Mary Lee Hu conducted 2009 March 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Hu's home and studio, in Seattle, Washington.
Hu speaks of growing up outside Cleveland, Ohio; her early interest in making objects; attending the Lawrence Art Center camp in Kansas at the age of 16 where she first experimented with metals; her like of working with tools in order to create something; taking metal smith classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art during high school; attending Miami University in Ohio for two years followed by two years an Cranbrook Academy of Art; working as a TA with L. Brent Kington at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; her collaborative work in both textiles and metals while at Carbondale which lead to her first experimentation in weaving silver wire; creating a body of work for her Master's thesis in which all the pieces were woven wire; various works, their origins, when, where and why they were created, including her Neckpiece, Choker, Bracelet, Brooch and Ring series; her aesthetic interest in patterns, line and positive/negative space; a limited interest in and use of color in her work; the transition from silver to gold wire; a progressively larger interest in the history of jewelry and body adornment which eventually became a lecture at the University of Washington, where she taught for 26 years; numerous trips around the world to countries such as China, Tibet, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia; a strong interest in ethnic and native jewelry/body adornment practices; the various purposes which jewelry can serve in society; her involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths and the American Craft Council; her technique based teaching practices; the role that modern technology plays in teaching, learning, and making jewelry; the lack of support and funds for metals programs in universities around the country; her library, which includes aver 2,000 books about the history of jewelry and body adornment; her collection of jewelry from around the world; her want to create beautiful and functional jewelry; the public and private aspects to jewelry and it's role in museums; current projects and the importance to maintain interest of metals in younger generations. Hu also recalls Gary Turner, Hans Christensen, Otto Dingeldein, Heikki Seppä, Hero Kielman, Phil Fike, Patti Warashina, Gary Noffke, Elliott Pujol, Chonghi Choo, Daphne Farafo, Vicki Halper, Ron Ho, Miye Matsukata, Alma Eikermann, Mark Baldridge, Kurt Matzdorf, Eleanor Moty, Fred Fenster, John Marshall, James McMurray, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Lee Hu (1943- ) is a metalsmith in Seattle, Washington. Smith was educated at Cranbrook Academy of Art and Southern Illinois University. She teaches at the University of Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 43 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Metal-workers -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Files containing Sturtevant's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. Restricted files were separated and placed at the end of their respective series in boxes 87, 264, 322, 389-394, 435-436, 448, 468, and 483. For preservation reasons, his computer files are also restricted. Seminole sound recordings are restricted. Access to the William C. Sturtevant Papers requires an apointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
William C. Sturtevant papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The papers of William C. Sturtevant were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Dr. Ives Goddard. Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
1 Videocassette (28 minutes , color sound , 3/4 inch)
Type:
Archival materials
Videocassettes
Date:
1986
Scope and Contents:
Film presents Hawai'i's acceptance into the Festival of Pacific Arts signifying their heritage as Polynesian peoples. The 1985 4th Festival, held in Tahiti, opens with a parade of participants representing Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. Shown are numerous singing and dance performances from Tuvalu, Tonga (male paddle dance), Samoa, French Polynesia, Marquesas Islands (wedding ceremony), Tahiti (wedding ceremony), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Wallace and Fortuna, Micronesia (Naru Island) and Hawai'i. Also filmed is Hawaiian dance and drumming rehearsals, Hawaiian crafts and traditions (quilting, lei making) and interviews with Hawaiian performers. In addition to performances are games including stone lifting, javelin throwing, coconut harvesting and palm weaving. Micronesian boys are shown in a wrestling match. Percussive instruments played include drums, gourds, sticks, hands, knee boards, logs, and biscuit tin. Other instruments include guitar and pan pipes (Papua New Guinea). Participants display ceremonial and other dress, head gear and body adornment (paint and tattoos).
Local Number:
HSFA 1998.16.1
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Summer Banner films of the South Pacific, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Series of sketches drawn from life by Florence Nupok, a full blood St Lawrence Island Eskimo woman. 93 sketches (numbers are listed on each drawing).
This series of sketches was made by Florence Nupok, a full blooded St Lawrence Island married Eskimo woman, aged about 19, during the winter of 1927-8 at her camp at N. East Cape. I purchased the sketches because they were drawn from life and because they show so nicely the usual every day life of the St Lawrence Island Eskimo. The sketches are worth the money expended for them and I doubt that an other set is in existence made by a native on the spot as these were. It is almost impossible for a white person to do any sketching in the houses or homes of these natives as they will not stand for it under any condition, unless one is fortunate enough to be taken into their tribe. I shall of course try to obtain photographs where ever possible. I shall ask Nupok again to continue this work for me, and I think she will. I trust that the idea meets with your approval. In a few years all St Lawrence Island Eskimos will live in frame houses -- five were built last year -- four this year (1928) and the old customs will go the long trail and be forgotten. Modern kitchen ranges, stoves, coal oil heaters, and so on are replacing the famous and serviceable seal oil lamps, enamel pans, dishes, the old driftwood bowls and platters; aluminum tea kettles are replacing the good old Russian "Samovars", etc. Clothing is about the only thing that they cling to and for a very good reason, which is that the white man's clothing is not yet good enough to keep out the terrible winter's cold and for that reason, I too, adopt the native clothes, the only kind which is good enough to keep one warm. I shall list the sketches by numbers and will give the remarks...
Biographical / Historical:
Made during the winter (1927-1928) at her camp at North East Cape.
Florence Nupok is now Florence Malewotkuk, according to Dorothy Ray, 1968.
Edited film produced and directed by C.L Chester in cooperation with Field and Stream magazine. A group of tourists visit a Maori village on the Wanganui River. Activities in the village include basket making, weaving, carving, dancing and demonstrating a fierce face.
Legacy Keywords: Weaving ; Basket making ; Carving ; Dance ; Body adornment
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Numbers:
HSFA 1998.14.1
Provenance:
Received from American Film Institute (National Center for Film and Video Preservation) in 1998.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogs
silent films
Citation:
Pahs and Papas, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Preservation was supported by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
West Africa, Porta Djallor (Basari) -- Initiation Dances
Collection Creator:
Institut für den Wissenschaftlichen Film (Göttingen, Germany) Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (4 minutes, black-and-white silent, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1956
Scope and Contents:
Edited film: shows excerpts of dances performed during the celebrations held when young boys reach adolescence. The single girls also take part in the dancing and are accompanied by a flute, metal leg-rattles, and individual finger-bells. The typical clothing and body adornments can also be seen.
Legacy Keywords: West Africa, Porta Djallor ; Africa; Basari
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 2006.2.293; E00342
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Institut Für Den Wissenschaftlichen Filmen (IWF) Encyclopaedia Cinematographica film collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
West Africa, Porta Djallor (Basari) -- Initiation Dances
Collection Creator:
Institut für den Wissenschaftlichen Film (Göttingen, Germany) Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (4 minutes, black-and-white silent, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1956
Scope and Contents:
Edited film: shows excerpts of dances performed during the celebrations held when young boys reach adolescence. The single girls also take part in the dancing and are accompanied by a flute, metal leg-rattles, and individual finger-bells. The typical clothing and body adornments can also be seen.
Legacy Keywords: West Africa, Porta Djallor ; Africa; Basari
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 2006.2.293; E00342
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Institut Für Den Wissenschaftlichen Filmen (IWF) Encyclopaedia Cinematographica film collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Outtakes from edited film includes: shots of interior of the cult house (cargo cult) showing women seated on floor with shell money draped overhead; close ups of cult objects, carvings, and pictographic art of the cult; mid-range and close-up shots of a ceremonial pan-pipe dance showing pan-pipe players and dancers in circular procession moving two abreast; dancers with decorated shields and spears, body adornment of vegetation, shells, feathered headdresses; female dancers in ceremonial skirts, knee rattles; activities are a sequence of a "custom feast" celebrated by cult members.
Legacy Keywords: Houses cult houses cargo cult Guadacanal ; Art iconographic cargo cults Guadacanal ; Musical instruments pan pipes Guadacanal ; Ceremony custom feast Guadacanal ; Plants ceremonial use Guadacanal ; Feathers ceremonial use Guadacanal ; Dancing ceremony custom feasts Guadacanal ; Dance knee rattles Guadacanal ; Garb ceremonial Guadacanal ; Language and culture ; Oceania ; New Hebrides ; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) ; Melanesians
General:
Local Number: HSFA 1975.5.1 - 23
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Man Blong Custom (Outtakes), Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Tu shuo Zhongguo gu dai ren ti zhuang shi = An illustration to the body adornment in ancient China / bian ji chu ban wei yuan hui zhu ren Li Feng ; fu zhu ren Zhang Shuancai ; wei yuan Zhao Tiantang ... [et al.] ; bian zhu Zheng Jie
Title:
圖說中國古代人体装饰 = An illustration to the body adornment in ancient China / 编辑出版委员会主任李峰 ; 副主任张栓才 ; 编著郑婕
Illustration to the body adornment in ancient China
Secret in the Cellar: A Written in Bone Forensic Mystery from Colonial America (Webcomic)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Electronic records
Date:
2011
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of three websites maintained by the Department of Anthropology as they existed in July 2011.
The Department of Anthropology website, crawled July 11, 2011, includes information about collections, staff, departmental publications, and professional development programs
and hosts the official websites of several departmental research programs such as the Program in Human Ecology and Archaeobiology, the Human Origins Program, the Repatriation
Office, the Paleo-Indian Program, and the Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology. The website also includes the departmental newsletter, "Anthropolog;" the departmental newsletter
for educators, "AnthroNotes;" staff interviews; and the online exhibitions, "Jorge Preloran Collection at Human Studies Film Archives;" "A Million Feet of Film/A Lifetime
of Friendship: the John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000;" "Benedicte Wrensted: An Idaho Photographer in Focus;" "Canela Indians of Northeastern
Brazil;" "Expeditions - 150 Years of Smithsonian Research in Latin America;" "Red Cloud's Manikin and His Uncle's Shirt;" "Smithsonian Olmec Legacy;" and "Unmasking the Maya:
the Story of Sna Jtz'ibajom." In addition, the website includes the webcomic, "Secret in the Cellar: A Written in Bone Forensic Mystery from Colonial America."
The National Anthropological Archives and Human Film Studies Archives website, crawled July 7, 2011, provides general and collections information. It also includes the
online exhibitions "Squint Eyes: Artist and Indian Scout;" "Drawing the Western Frontier: The James E. Taylor Album;" "Camping With the Sioux: Fieldwork Diary of Alice Cunningham
Fletcher;" "Henry Wood Elliot: An American Artist in Alaska;" "Selections from the Field Journal of William Duncan Strong (Honduras, 1933);" "Canela Body Adornment: Photographs
from the William H. Crocker Collection;" "Kiowa Drawings;" and "Tichkematse: A Cheyenne at the Smithsonian."
The Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR) website was crawled July 7, 2011. CoPAR is dedicated to helping anthropologists, librarians, archivists,
information specialists and others preserve and provide access to the record of human diversity and the history of the discipline. The website includes bulletins, online publications,
and a directory of ethnographic archives.
