The papers of painter and sculptor Edward Arcenio Chavez measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1917 to 1982 with the bulk of the material dating from 1941 to 1973. The collection is comprised of biographical material, personal business records related to the Federal Works Agency and other projects, printed materials, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and sculptor Edward Arcenio Chavez measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1917 to 1982 with the bulk of the material dating from 1941 to 1973. The collection is comprised of biographical material, personal business records related to the Federal Works Agency and other projects, printed materials, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials include awards, certificates, a biographical sketch, curriculum vitae, and an interview transcript. Personal business records contain a Federal Works Agency contract, correspondence, and a project file. Art reproductions, books, booklets, brochures, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, journals, magazines, and press releases are in printed materials. Photographic materials consists of photographs and slides of Chavez and works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1935-1970 (Box 1, OV 4; 3 folders)
Series 2: Personal Business Records, 1941-1973 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1917-1982 (Boxes 1-3, OV 4; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Photographic Material, 1950-1973 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Arcenio Chavez (1917-1995) was a painter and sculptor in Woodstock, New York. He was born in Ocate, New Mexico, and moved to Colorado with his parents and nine siblings when he was five years old. After being encouraged by his high school art teacher to pursue art after graduation, Chavez became an apprentice to artist Frank Mechau and attended the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. During this time he participated in the New York World's Art of America Exhibition in 1937 and began painting murals for the Works Progress Administration under the Federal Works Agency. After serving as a war art correspondent during World War II, Chavez settled in Woodstock, N.Y. where he established his studio.
Over the course of his career, Chavez was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant, a Fulbright Grant, the Childe Hassam Institute of Arts and Letters Award among others. He taught at the Art Students League of New York, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Syracuse University, Dutchess Community College, and was artist-in-residence at Utah City Schools and the Huntington Museum of Art in West Virginia. Chavez's work has been exhibited throughout the United States and is in numerous museum collections such as the Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, and Hirshhorn Museum.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Edward Chavez conducted by Joseph Trovato November 5, 1964.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by the George Arents Research Library at Syracuse University in 1984.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Presentation of Elwood ("Woody") Norris, the inventor of HyperSonic Sound (HSS) at the Arlington Public Library in Arlington, Virginia; and oral history interview with Lemelson Center staff member Paul Rosenthal. Norris discusses his life and inventions.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Elwood "Woody" Norris began his training in electronics by repairing broken radios as a child and learning all he could about the field. A classic independent inventor, Norris is self-educated, self-funded and self-motivated. With inventions spanning fields from acoustics to aviation to medicine, Norris is changing technology for the better. His achievements have earned him the 2005 Lemelson-MIT Prize.
Devoid of a woofer and tweeter, Norris' HyperSonic Sound (HSS®) system consists of an emitter measuring as little as one-sixteenth of an inch thick, digital processor and amplfier. Designed to control the direction of sound emitted, HSS is focused like a laser beam. When aimed directly at a listener it has the effect of wearing headphones, almost like a voice inside one's head. It projects high-frequency sound in the air, which produces ultrasonic waves that can also be made to bounce off walls or other objects, unlike conventional speakers which are larger and typically require a box. The sound is clearer and remains at the same level for all listeners over great distances, since it does not radiate in all directions like a conventional speaker. HSS has been used for targeted messaging and capturing customer attention with sound, with additional applications targeted for the future, such as surround sound in home theaters. A side benefit of HSS is that people can move aside from the sound beam if they don't want to listen.
In 1967, inspired by Doppler radar, Norris created a sonar tool to isolate different movements inside the human body. This Transcutaneous Doppler system, which sends ultrasound through the skin, was designed to listen to targeted sounds, and was a precursor to the sonogram.
Mostly computer operated with handlebar assistance, Norris's AirScooter® invention is a personal transportation vehicle that weighs just over 250 pounds. The AirScooter has two counter-rotating blades with two pontoons, and Norris plans to offer an optional GPS navigational system in the future. While originally envisioned for recreational users, it has also sparked the interest of law enforcement officials and general commuters.
In the mid-1980s, Norris created a hands-free ear-mounted speaker/microphone device operating on the principle that sound travels through the bones in a persons head. The device was designed at the request of NASA, as a replacement for the built-in microphone in helmets used by astronauts. Norris's patents were sold to the Danish audio company, JABRA Corporation who produced a commercial version of the cell phone headset.
Another invention by Norris is Flashback® the first handheld recording and playback device that eliminated audio-tape. It uses non-volatile flash memory and is totally solid state—no moving parts.
Norris founded and served as Director and President of Parametric Sound Corporation, now known as Turtle Beach Corporation, and also served as Chief Scientist at Turtle Beach. He also founded LRAD Corporation and was the Chairman of LRAD Corporation's Board of Directors before retiring in 2010.
Most recently, Norris has been working on BolaWrap, a handheld, non-lethal restraining device, currently being used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies. The small device works like a lasso, designed to detain people without causing severe injury. Norris expects to offer a range of new product solutions to "help meet the challenges of modern policing."
Norris, who grew up in Cumberland, Maryland, attributes some of his success to his high school drama group which developed his public speaking and confidence and even earned him a national thespian award. Norris has garnered over 100 U.S. patents in the fields of electrical and acoustic engineering. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer for Wrap Technologies Inc.
Source
Lemelson-MIT Program (https://lemelson.mit.edu/award-winners/elwood-woody-norris last accessed on April 21, 2021)
Provenance:
Audio and video recordings created by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, March 10, 2007.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The Reuben A. Snake, Jr. Papers, located in the Cultural Resource Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, contain writings, correspondence, biographical materials, and written materials relating to the Native American Church which document the literary and political activities of this Winnebago tribal leader.
Scope and Contents:
The Reuben Snake Papers encompass original writings by Snake, correspondence, biographical materials, and written materials relating to Reuben's activism on behalf of the Native American Church.
Also included in this collection are video and audio tapes that contain interviews, talks, radio broadcasts, and other orally and visually transmitted items. These materials have been transferred to the NMAI Media Archives. All photographs have been transferred to the NMAI Photo Archives.
Arrangement:
The Reuben Snake papers are divided into four series:
Series 1, Writings, (undated, 1972-1993),
Series 2, Correspondence (undated, 1982-1996),
Series 3, Biographical (undated, 1985-1996),
Series 4, Native American Church (1971-1993)
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben A. Snake, Jr. was born January 12, 1937 at Winnebago, Nebraska, the youngest child of Reuben Harold and Virginia Greyhair Snake. Reuben's mother divorced her husband and later remarried, but Reuben's early life was fraught with hardships, including a period of separation from his parents and siblings. When the family's financial situation improved, parents and children were able to reunite and eventually settled in Hastings, Minnesota.
Reuben entered Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1950 but later dropped out due to problems with alcohol. He joined the Army in 1956, from which he was honorably discharged, and two years later he married Kathy McKee, with whom he raised four daughters and two sons. In 1965 he quit drinking.
Reuben was active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s and organized many demonstrations during his tenure as national chairman of that organization. After being elected chairman of the Winnebago tribe, Reuben reorganized the tribe, centralizing its administration and improving funding and accountability. Reuben was involved with educational issues as well, serving on education committees for the National Congress of American Indians and the National Tribal Chairman's Association. He worked both nationally and internationally to help make more widely known issues of Indian health, education, and religious freedom.
Reuben began to renew his spiritual and cultural ties with the Native American Church in the 1970s and eventually became a Roadman for the church. With the help of Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii he fought judicial battles to legalize the importation of peyote from Mexico for use in sacramental ceremonies. In 1990, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the sacred use of peyote was not protected by the Constitution, Reuben became the official spokesperson for the Native American Church to educate the public about church philosophy and history. He organized the Native American Religious Freedom Project to lobby for national legislation what would amend and strengthen the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
Reuben had suffered a major heart attack in 1986, and by the early 1990s, his health was deteriorating. He died on June 28, 1993. Reuben did not live to see the results of his hard work on behalf of Native American religious freedom, Amendments to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which President Clinton signed into law in October, 1994. These amendments protected the religious use of peyote by Indians.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Kathy Snake in 2006.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the Archivist of the National Museum of the American Indian. Please submit a written request to NMAIArchives@si.edu. Copyright vested in Reuben A. Snake, Jr. has not passed to the National Museum of the American Indian; researchers are responsible for determining any other copyright questions.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Reuben A. Snake, Jr. Papers, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Oneida lives : long-lost voices of the Wisconsin Oneidas / edited by Herbert S. Lewis with the assistance of L. Gordon McLester III ; with a foreword by Gerald L. Hill