Tim Asch

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Tim Asch (July 16 1932 – October 3 1994, Los Angeles, California), was a noted anthropologist, photographer, and ethnographic filmmaker. Along with John Marshall and Robert Gardner, Asch played an important role in the development of visual anthropology. He is particularly known for his film The Ax Fight.

Tim Asch
Filmmaker, anthropologist, and photographer Tim Asch Filmmaker, anthropologist, and photographer Tim Asch
Occupation	Professor
Nationality	United States
Genre	Visual anthropology
Notable works	The Ax Fight

Background

Asch was born in Southampton, New York and attended The Putney School before joining Columbia University where he received his B.S. in anthropology in 1959. While at Columbia, he served as a teaching assistant for Margaret Mead who encouraged his work in visual anthropology. From 1950-1951, he served apprenticeships with Minor White, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams through the San Francisco Art Institute (formerly known as the California School of Fine Arts). He received his M.A. in African Studies from Boston University (with an anthropology concentration at Harvard University) in 1964.

Career

Asch was known for the his work as an ethnographic filmmaker on the Yanomami in conjunction with Napoleon Chagnon. He also worked with anthropologist Jay Ruby.

He taught at New York University, Brandeis University, and Harvard University, prior to joining the University of Southern California in 1982. He became the Director of the Center for Visual Anthropology after the death of founder Barbara Myerhoff. During his period at USC, he was involved with the Margaret Mead Film Festival.

Asch acted as Director of the Center for Visual Anthropology up until his death from cancer on October 3 1994.