SHARON R. SHERMAN is the director of the Folklore Program at the University of Oregon and Professor of English. She received her Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University and her Master"s degree in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she also studied film in the Ethnographic Film Program. Most of Sherman"s published work has concentrated on the relationship between film and folklore, and perceptions about traditional expressive behavior as revealed by filmmakers. Sherman has served on the Executive Board of the American Folklore Society and as the Film and Videotape Review Editor for Western Folklore and the Journal of American Folklore. She teaches courses on film, folklore, fieldwork, video production, and popular culture. Her films and videos address the interconnection between tradition and the creative process. They include: Kid Shoes, on young men and music; Tales of the Supernatural, her first film, an analysis of storytelling events and urban legends, created at UCLA; Passover, A Celebration; Kathleen Ware, Quiltmaker; and Spirits in the Wood. Sherman also served as a camerawoman for portions of Jorge Preloran"s series, Patagonia. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of Chainsaw Sculptor: The Art of J. Chester Armstrong (1995). Her book, Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video, and Culture (1998), a history and critique, contains interview material with twelve filmmakers, and is the first in-depth study of folkloristic films as a genre of documentary.
Ph.D. Folklore, Indiana University, 1978
M.A. Folklore and Mythology, UCLA srs@uoregon.edu
Vita
Research Areas:
• Film and folklore
• Mythology
• Narrative theory
• Popular culture
• Fieldwork
Courses Taught:
• Introduction to Folklore
• Magic, Myth, and Religion
• History and Theory of Folklore Research
• Film and Folklore
• Folklore Fieldwork
• Video Production
• Studies in Mythology
Publications:
• Videos:
Inti Raymi en Quinchuqui
Jan Eliot at the Writer"s Guild
Kid Shoes
Spirits in the Wood
Passover: A Celebration
Portland Cityfolk Festival
• 16mm Films:
Kathleen Ware, Quiltmaker
Tales of the Supernatural
• Books:
Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video, and Culture (The University Press of Kentucky, 1998)
Chainsaw Sculptor: The Art of J. Chester "Skip" Armstrong (University Press of Mississippi, 1995).
• Journal Articles :
Numerous articles. See, for example, "Perils of the Princess."
• In Progress:
Val & Gogi (video)
Filmic Folklore: The Convergence of Cinema and Folklore (book, co-edited with Mikel Koven)
Zulay: An Otavaleña"s Life in Ecuador (video, working title)
Professional Memberships:
• American Folklore Society
• Western States Folklore Society (President)
• Popular Culture Association
谢尔曼拍摄的民俗纪录片
Films on Folkstreams By Sherman, Sharon R.
Kathleen Ware, Quiltmaker
Film by Sharon R. Sherman
Produced by
Cinematographer: Steve Mandell
Sound: Steven Zibelman
Editing:
Copyright: 1979, Sharon Sherman
32 minutes, Color
Original format: 16mm, 1979
Distributor Contact: Sharon Sherman
More Film Facts
MPEG-4 Film - Runtime: 00:32:57
Real-Surestream Film - Runtime: 00:32:57
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Kathleen Ware, Quiltmaker (1920--2001), captures both the folk art of quiltmaking and the personality of an individual folk artist. Located in the coast range of Oregon, the Ware home sits by the side of a well-traveled highway and attracts numerous quilt enthusiasts. The film shows Kathleen Ware"s daily life and includes interactions with customers and family members. Unique is the film"s handling of the economic aspect of quiltmaking in addition to personal aesthetics.
From the placing of an order to the completion of the last stitch, the film details the entire process of creating a traditional Lone Star quilt. As the quilt grows, so does our knowledge of Kathleen Ware"s vibrant spirit as quiltmaker, wife, mother, and grandmother.
I started making a quilt one day, jut to be doing something, and my husband come in, "What do you want to do that for? You got enough of those made already!" So just to have something to say, I said, "Oh, I"ll sell "em." And so I did. And that"s the way I got started . . . .
The biggest majority of people are fascinated with the Lone Star and it"s always been one of my favorites too. The easiest ay of doing it is the way I put it together, and it took me a while to learn how to do that.
-- Kathleen Ware
Spirits in the Wood: The Chainsaw Art of Skip Armstrong
Film by Sharon R. Sherman
Produced by Sharon Sherman
Cinematographer: Sharon Sherman
Sound: Steven Zibelman
Editing: Sharon Sherman
Copyright: 1991, Sharon Sherman
28 minutes, Color
Original format: 3/4 tape, 1991
Distributor Contact: Sharon Sherman
More Film Facts
Real-Surestream Film - Runtime: 00:29:04
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In the Ponderosa pines of central Oregon, chainsaw artist J. Chester "Skip" Armstrong creates breathtaking eagles and other finely crafted animals. His choice of materials and methods of creating shape, texture, and detail have much in common with both regional vernacular western chainsaw art and delicately tooled wood sculpture. This fascinating video explores the processes of creativity, raises questions about the differences between folk art and fine art, and captures Armstrong"s unique aesthetic sensibilities, his outlook on life, his surroundings, and his growing reputation as an artist. Armstrong says he wants to "dance inside the log," and he and the chainsaw unite in a furious blitz of energy that allows him to see his idea materialize almost instantaneously. From the natural form and grain of the raw log, he "frees" the animal shape. Then with smaller power tools, he details his sculpture. Bears, coyotes, and sea otters come to life by this furious artistry Revealing art as performance, this video of Armstrong and his work includes the making of one individual piece from conceptualization to completion. The video shows him interacting with admirers at crafts fairs and in gallery demonstrations. These contrasting contexts raise theoretical issues about the ways in which folk is defined.
Film by Sharon R. Sherman
Produced by Sharon Sherman
Cinematographer: Brogan de Paor, Steve Raymen
Sound: Steven J. Zibelman
Editing:
Copyright: Copyright 1970 by Sharon R. Sherman
26 minutes, Color
Original format: 16mm, 1970
Distributor Contact: Sharon Sherman
More Film Facts
MPEG-4 Film - Runtime: 00:26:11
Real-Surestream Film - Runtime: 00:26:11
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Shot before the term “urban legend” was used, Tales of the Supernatural analyzes the ways in which horror stories ( or “ghost legends” ) are transmitted, the functions of such stories for the members of the group being filmed, and the relationship between transmission and function in the telling of the tales. The film examines the storytelling situation as a unique communicative event, focusing on the kinesics, proxemics and remarks, reactions, and tensions of the participants. The storytellers, a group of American teenagers, were in no way prompted so that the film could portray the event as it actually unfolded. The narration raises certain hypotheses regarding the nature of storytelling, and discusses the role of horror in oral narrative, literature, and mass media. For folklorists and anthropologists, and those interested in communicative events, performance, the processes of narrating, and the functions of legends and beliefs in America, the film is especially useful. Shot with natural lighting only: six candles and the flickering of a fire in a fireside.
