Timothy Asch was an anthropologist and ethnographic film maker who devoted his professional life to using film as a recording and teaching medium. His papers cover the period from 1966 until his premature death in 1994 and reflect his active career in the field. A large portion of the files relates to his work among the Yanomami people of Venezuela and to his concern with bias in film making.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Timothy Asch document his career as an anthropologist, educator,
photographer and filmmaker through correspondence, photographs, research files
(articles and notes), and teaching materials (course information and lecture notes). The
files relating to Asch's film projects include articles, field notes, and reviews. The major
correspondents in this collection are Patsy Asch, Tom Beidelman, Napoleon Chagnon,
James Fox, Robert Gardner, Douglas Lewis, Peter Loizos, David & Olga Sapir, and
Minor White.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into the following 13 series:
Series 1) Correspondence (1953-1994)
Series 2) College and graduate School (1955-1965)
Series 3) Teaching materials (1964-1993)
Series 4) Film projects (1964-1991)
Series 5) Articles and reviews (1972-1994)
Series 6) Alpha-Subject (1955-1989)
Series 7) Conferences, film festivals, and film organizations (1963-1993)
Series 8) Grants (1962-1993)
Series 9) Other people's work (1952-1995)
Series 10) Personal and family (1951-1994)
Series 11) Photographs (1947-1991)
Series 12) Sound recordings (bulk 1960s-1970s)
Series 13) Note slips, rolodexes, and business cards (1987, undated)
Biographical note:
Asch studied photography at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. While serving in the United States Army in Japan from 1951-55 he spent his off-duty hours photographing rice production and household activities in remote Japanese villages. After his military service, he enrolled in Columbia University graduating in 1959 with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology. After graduation, he went to work at the Peabody Museum at Harvard as an assistant editor to John Marshall on the Kung Bushmen film project. In 1964, he received a Masters Degree in Anthropology from Boston University where he studied in the African Studies Progam and read Anthropology with T.O. Beidelman at Harvard. In 1968, Asch and Marshall founded Documentary Educational Resources, a film distribution company. Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon approached Asch in 1968 to film among the Yanomammmi people of Venezuela. This collaboration led to a major project resulting in over thirty films.
Chronology
1950-1951 -- California School of Fine Arts and Apprenticeships with photographers Minor White, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams
1953-1954 -- Military Service in Korea
1959 -- B.S. in Anthropology Columbia University
1959-1962 -- Ethnographic film consultant, Harvard University's Peabody Museum
1964 -- M.A. in Anthropology Harvard University
1965-1966 -- Curriculum Consultant, Ethnographic studies and the Bushmen Social Studies Curriculum Project (initially Educational Services, Inc., later called Educational Development Center)
1966-1968 -- Lecturer in Anthropology and Theater Arts, Brandeis University
1966-1968 -- Anthropology Curriculum and Media Consultant to the Newton Public Schools
1967-1994 -- Co-Founder and Director of Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, Massachusetts, a non-profit curriculum development corporation distributing educational media
1968-1970 -- Visiting Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, New York University
1969-1973 -- Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Brandeis University
1973-1979 -- Research Fellow in Ethnographic film, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
1974-1976 -- Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
1975 -- Research Cinematographer, National Anthropological Film Center, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
1976-1981 -- Senior Research Fellow, Department of Anthropology, Institute of Advanced Studies, the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
1982 -- Visiting Research Scholar, Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
1983-1994 -- Director, Center for Visual Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California
Related Materials:
The Human Studies Film Archives holds 93,000 feet (43 hours) of original film footage and the accompanying sound as well as the edited films from the 1968 and 1971 film projects by Timothy Asch and Napoleon Chagnon documenting the Yanomamo Indians of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil (between the Negro and Upper Orinoco rivers).
Provenance:
Donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Patsy Asch in 1996.
102 Items (50 completed films and 1 film series; 93,685 feet of 16mm film (43.5 hours) and 100 minutes videotape)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1954-circa 2008
Scope and Contents:
Jorge Prelorán completed more than 50 films during his career. He deposited 47 of these films and one multi-part film series at the HSFA. Several titles in the filmography are not included here; those titles were not in Prelorán's possession at the time of accession are not held at the HSFA. Many other titles have an alternate version, second language version, or both. Multiple versions are noted in individual descriptions below. Availability of reference copies is also noted below. Reference copies may be viewed on site at HSFA; some may be purchased for personal or research use. Several titles are currently in distribution by Documentary Educational Resources (DER).
For all film titles there is original film and original audio. Some titles have preservation film and audio. For all video titles there is original video. Each description below includes: HSFA film number, title, total film footage in feet (if applicable), total running time, and description of the original film or video. All film is 16mm, unless otherwise noted; video is in various formats, as noted. Contact the archives for information on availability of access copies. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Arrangement:
The series is divided into two sub-series: (1.1) Films directed by Prelorán, 1954-circa 2008; (1.2) Films directed by others, circa 1958, circa 1969
Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
510 Feet (silent, color positive film; 14 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.79
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1996
Scope and Contents:
Re-edited version includes additional footage and inter-titles of a poem by Langston Hughes not found in the original.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The date of this re-edited, shorter version is uncertain, however it is later than the original release version.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Documentary film about La Cueva de las Manos (the Cave of the Painted Hands) in Alto Río Pinturas, Argentina. The cave's thousands of painted handprints and hunting scenes were created by pre-Tehuelche Indians between 6000 and 9000 years ago. Film was shot in the 1960s and first released in 1971. In 1981, Prelorán re-edited and shortened the film, and produced an English language version. The HSFA holds three versions.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
381 Feet (sound, color positive film; 10.5 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.74
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1988
Scope and Contents:
Re-edited, shorter version.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
381 Feet (sound, color positive film; 10.5 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.34
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1971
1981
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Educational film documents the birth and first flight of the Sappho sparganura, the red-tailed comet hummingbird, in the remote Santa Barbara Mountains, Salta Province, Argentina. Film was shot in the 1960s by Francisco Contino. Editing and post-production were done by Prelorán and the film was released in 1971.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Documentary film about a cattle auction of 6000 head at a large ranch on the plains of La Pampa Province, Argentina. Film was shot in the 1960s and released in 1971.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Travelogue film documents the natural beauty and historic structures of Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA. Film was shot during the summer of 1955 while Prelorán was working on the island and was completed in 1958.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Ethnographic film documents life in a valley of the Llanos Riojanos, San Juan Province, western Argentina. Shot over several years, the film shows both tradition and change and features narration by local residents. Film was shot in the 1960s and released in 1972.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
3,250 Feet (sound, color positive film; 89 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.37
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1972
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Ethnographic film documents the life of a family in the Western Pampas, Argentina over the course of one year. The primary focus is Cochengo Miranda, a former folk singer who works as a rancher to support his family. Special attention is paid to the transculturation that is taking place and the differences in life for the older and younger generations. Film was shot in 1973 and 1974 and first released in 1974. In 1979, Prelorán produced an English language version and may have re-edited the Spanish version. In 2003, he updated the titles and credits in the English version. He may also have re-edited the English version at that time. The HSFA holds three version.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
2,110 Feet (sound, color positive film; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.38
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1974-1979
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
2,110 Feet (sound, color positive film; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.81
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1979
Scope and Contents:
Original English language version.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
1 Videocassettes (Betacam) (sound, color; Digital Betacam; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.86
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Videocassettes (betacam)
Date:
1979
2003
Scope and Contents:
Updated English language version.
Series Restrictions:
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:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
