Collection Guide
Collection Title:
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Department of Anthropology (University of California, Irvine)
Motion Pictures
AS.158
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology motion
pictures
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. Department of
Anthropology
Identifier/Call Number: AS.158
Physical Description:
6.2 Linear Feet
(9 reels in 5 canisters)
Date (inclusive): 1965 and 1968
Select items are available online.
Abstract: The collection consists of 9 motion
picture film reels from the University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology
documenting the construction and use of a canoe by a craftsman named Uliulileave from
Satalo, Samoa, as well as the work of a master Yucatec Maya potter named Alfredo Tzum.
The collection is open for research.
Select items have been reformatted and have digital preservation copies. Access to original
motion pictures is restricted; researchers may request viewing copies.
Property rights reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or
to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology Motion Pictures. AS-158.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date
accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Transferred from the Department of Anthropology, 2012.
Alternative Forms of Materials
Three of the reels were reformatted into digital files in May 2012 for an exhibit at the
Contemporary Arts Center at UC Irvine entitled "Learning by Doing at the Farm," curated by
doctoral students Robbie Kett (anthropology) and Anna Kryczka (visual studies). The digital
files are accessible through
Calisphere .
Processed by Audra Eagle Yun, 2012.
The Department of Anthropology is a department within the School of Social Sciences at the
University of California, Irvine. In the 1960s, the School of Social Sciences hosted an
experimental cultural and artistic exchange program on campus known as the Social Sciences
Farm. The program brought indigenous people from Mexico, Guatemala, and Samoa to live in
farm buildings in an underdeveloped part of campus. The Farm was described as a fieldwork
training site for students of anthropology, where indigenous experts were viewed as
informants or teachers. Social scientists at UC Irvine documented the skills and practices
of the informants through photography and motion pictures.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection consists of 9 motion picture film reels from the University of California,
Irvine, Department of Anthropology documenting the construction and use of a canoe by a
craftsman named Uliulileave from Satalo, Samoa, as well as the work of a master Yucatec Maya
potter named Alfredo Tzum. Footage of the process of construction of a Samoan canoe (or
va'a), as well as fishing from and racing the finished canoe in and around Balboa Island and
the Newport Back Bay area, comprises 8 of the 9 reels and includes negatives. The motion
picture "Ollero Yucateco" was filmed and produced in 1965 by the University of Illinois, and
depicts pottery and kiln techniques. A review of the film from 1966 indicates that the film
was made in the basement of a University of Illinois building.
Three of the reels were reformatted into digital files in May 2012 for an exhibit at the
Contemporary Arts Center at UC Irvine entitled "Learning by Doing at the Farm," curated by
doctoral students Robbie Kett (anthropology) and Anna Kryczka (visual studies). The digital
files are accessible through
Calisphere .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Canoes and canoeing -- Samoa
Canoes and canoeing -- Audio-visual materials -- Samoa
Dugout canoes -- Audio-visual materials -- Samoa
Dugout canoes -- Samoa
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century.
Anthropology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- California -- Irvine
Samoa -- Audio-visual aids
Samoa -- Study and Teaching (Higher)
University of California, Irvine. Department of
Anthropology -- Archives