The Collections of Harry Smith: Catalogue Raisonné, Volume I and II
September 29, 2015 by Matthew Klassen 
01
Image
—01. Paper Airplanes and String Figures.
Words
I am enraptured by the varied activities of Harry Smith – painting, collecting, filmmaking and musical anthropology – and with his recognition steadily rising over the last decade, it is becoming easier to link these disparate polymathic activities to him. The themes that bind all of these practices together are his interpretation of patterns in culture, and the creation of his own systems of visual and auditory information. When Smith’s work is viewed with these things in mind, it is clear that a specific thread runs through all of the artifacts he laid his hands on. A series of mounted string figures and 251 found paper planes – two of his most storied collections – form the basis of these new photographic volumes, shot by Jason Fulford and published by J&L Books and Anthology Film Archives.
