The Uncontainable Influence of Harry Smith: From Culture-Altering Shaman to Pre-Internet Pioneer

The Whitney Museum of American Art is hosting the first institutional solo exhibition of Harry Smith, a painter, filmmaker, folk musicologist, and underground legend. The exhibition, titled "Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith," showcases Smith's diverse body of work, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and films. Despite his reputation as an experimental filmmaker, Smith is best known for his compilation of the six-disc LP collection called the "Anthology of American Folk Music," which played a significant role in shaping the sociopolitical landscape during the civil rights and Vietnam era. The exhibition presents the challenge of presenting Smith's multidisciplinary work in a traditional museum setting, which is addressed through the installation design by sculptor Carol Bove.