
Sam
Low sailing to Rapa Nui aboard Hokule'a |
SAM
LOW: A RESUME
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Present Position
Fine Arts Photographer
and writer: Freelance
Writer and Partner - Cambridge Studios. Working on two books about Hawaii
and Polynesian navigation. Ohana is the story of Rawhide Ben
Low - a famous Hawaiian cowboy - and Hawai'iki Rising is the
saga of Hokule'a and her famous navigator, to be published by the University
of Hawaii Press. Represented by Dragonfly Gallery, Oak Bluffs, Martha's
Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Family
Wife - Karin Swanson, Children
- Matthew, Julie, Alison, Grandchildren - Matt, Sophia, Ben, Jim.
Education
1975 Ph.D., Anthropology, Harvard; 1971 M.A., Anthropology, Harvard:
1964 B.A., History, Yale.
Military
Service
1964 -1966 Active duty with the seventh fleet (Pacific), Lt. USNR.
Teaching
Experience
Bowdoin College, Visiting Lecturer, 1977; Hunter College, Assistant
Professor, the Department of Anthropology, 1975-1976; Harvard University,
Teaching Fellow - 1967 - 1969
Expeditions
Voyages - Robert
C. Seamans, Sea Education Association, Hawaii-Marquesas, March
2003. Polynesian Voyaging Society, replication of ancient Hawaiian
navigation: Chuuk,
Federated States of Micronesia to Satawal - March, 2007; Tahiti
- Hawaii, winter, 2000; Mangareva
- Easter Island, fall 1999; Tahiti
- Hawaii, Spring, 1995. Anthropological Fieldwork
in El Porvenir, Peru, 1969-1970. Archeological Excavations - Roman
Shipwreck, Torre Sgaratta, Italy , summer, 1968; byzantine shipwreck,
Yassi Ada, Turkey, summer, 1968; Roman Shipwreck, Torre Sgaratta, Italy,
summer, 1967; ancient seaport, Cosa, Italy, summer, 1967; Byzantine
shipwreck, Yassi Ada, Turkey, summer 1966; ancient sea port at Kenchreai,
Greece, summer, 1964.

Sam Low at Lime Rock |
Film/Television/Radio
Producer/Director/Writer
NOVA - "Imagine the
Worst" - proposal for a film about protecting America's airlines
in a time of terrorist threat, 2004.
Wreck
of the Columbus - story of famous shipwreck off Martha's
Vineyard, WNAN-FM - January 18, 2001 - writer/presenter.
No Hair Day -installed DeCordova Museum, October
2000; PBS broadcast Fall 2000 - videographer
Discover - The World of Science - producer/director/writer
- Speed - April 16, 1997.
NOVA - producer/director/writer - Fast
Cars - May 23, 1995.
Out of the Past - Series Producer: eight-part
PBS series spring 1993
Out of the Past - Producer, director, writer: Collapse and New
Worlds.
The Ring of Truth
- Producer, director, writer - Change and Mapping - PBS - October 27
and November 3, 1987
The
Navigators - Producer, director, writer - PBS national
broadcast in 1983.
The Ancient Mariners - Producer, writer - Broadcast
1980 on PBS and BBC CHRONICLE Series.
Odyssey Series, Acquisitions producer, Ongka's
Big Moka, Maasai Women, Cree Hunters, The Sakuddei, PBS, 1980.
Odyssey Series, Senior Researcher, 1978-1980.
Seaplanes at Moosehead, Producer, director, writer
- WCVB-10 and MPBN, 1978.
The Maine Festival, Producer, director, writer
- MPBN, Maine PBS, 1978.
Collage,
Segment producer, director, writer; MPBN, Maine PBS, 1978.
The Saint Mary, Slide tape, 1976.
Awards
First Finalist, Society of Professional Journalists, Hawaii Chapter,
Feature Writing - Long Form, Hana Hou magazine, Hokule'a 25th Anniversary
articles, 2001; Kahili Award, 2001, Hawaii Visitors Bureau award for
best article celebrating Hawaiian culture, Hana Hou magazine - "Guardians
of the Pond;" Hawaii Publishers Association Pa'i award, 2001, Editorial
Feature, first place, Hana Hou magazine - "Guardians of the Pond;"
Kahili Award, 2000, Hana Hou magazine - Hokule'a 25th anniversary articles;
Cine Golden Eagle, 1995 - Fast Cars; Bronze Plaque - 1995 - Columbus
International Film and Video Festival - Fast Cars; Certificate of Merit
- 1996 - Chicago International Film Festival - Fast Cars; Cine Golden
Eagle - 1993 - Artisans and Traders; Cine Golden Eagle - 1993 - Collapse;
Bronze Plaque - 41st Annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival
- 1993; Cine Golden Eagle - 1983 - The Navigators; Blue Ribbon - American
Film Festival - 1983 - The Navigators; Silver Anvil - 1983 - The Navigators.

Not-so-ancient mariner in Truk |
Museum
Exhibits and Screenings featuring "The Navigators" and/or
Sam's photographs
Imi Loa Astronomy Center, Hilo, Hawaii - photographs - 2007.
Mauna
Loa Observatory, Waimea, Hawaii - photographs - 2006.
Burke
Museum, Seattle - "Pacific Voices" - 1997
Ontario Science Center - "A Question of Truth" - 1996
Field Museum of Chicago - "People of the Pacific" - 1992-93
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, film series, 1988
Hansen Planetarium, "exploring the Pacific Series," - 1986
Honolulu Theatre for Youth, 1986
Nantes Festival International de film du Mer, 1985
Film/Video International at Castle Hill - 1984
Honolulu Film Festival, 1983
Margaret Mead Film Festival - 1983 - main auditorium screening.
Fine
Art Exhibits
"The
Two Cousins" - two man show with painter Lanny McDowell, Old
Grange Hall, West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts - September
3, 2005 (see gallery section for report).

"Chocolate
Church Juried Photo Exhibit" - Bath, Maine, January
6 - February 11, 2006.
"Dragonfly
Gallery" - Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts - June
21 to July 2, 2006 - exhibit and sale of photographs (with Peggy Turner
Zablotny).
"Dragonfly
Gallery" - exhibit of photographs - June 7 - 17th, 2007.
Consultations/Presentations/Grants
2006 to present - Board Member (Honorary) the Art League of New
Britain, Connecticut. July 2004 - 2006, Board of Overseers, Sea Education
Association, Woods Hole, Mass. June 2003 - June 2007, Curator, "Waka
Moana" Exhibit and author of chapter on navigational methods, Auckland
Museum, New Zealand. January, 2003 - "Voyage of Hokule'a"
- slide/lecture, Atlantic Challenge, Rockland, Maine. November, 2002
- "Star Traveler" - slide/lecture, Central Maine Astronomical
Society, also September 20, 2003 at Sea Education Association, Woods
Hole, Mass. Oct 11, 2000 - "Present at the Creation" - slide/lecture
at New Britain Museum of American Art. 1996 Media Panelist - The National
Science Foundation. 1994 (to present) founding member of the Pare Lorentz
Panel of the International Documentary Association. 1993 Principal Investigators'
Panel - The National Science Foundation. 1992 Recipient of National
Science Foundation production grant. 1992 Media Panelist - The National
Endowment for the Humanities. 1988 Panelist - The Annenberg Foundation.
1986 Media Panelist - The National Endowment for the Humanities. 1984-85
The Pennsylvania State University, Media Consultant, NEW DIRECTIONS
IN ARCHAEOLOGY film project. 1984 - Producers Workshop Panel - Documentary
Production - Film/video International at Castle Hill. 1984 Department
of Anthropology, Brown University, Media Consultant for National Endowment
for the humanities funded film - THE IRON TREE. 1983 recipient of Hawaii
Committee for the Humanities grant for production of film study guide
to accompany The Navigators. 1981 recipient of Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
film production grant. 1981 - "Anthropology for Television,"
presentation to the 14th Film and Video Seminar of the Northwest, Seattle,
Washington. 1980 - "Anthropology and the Media: The Odyssey Series,"
presentation to the Conference on Visual Anthropology, Temple University.
1977 - Anthropology and Film: presentation to the Maine Photographic
Workshops. 1977 - Yanomamo: the Fierce People; presentation of anthropological
film in association with Bates College Film Board and department of
Sociology and Anthropology. 1977 - Documentary Video Workshop - workshop
leader for workshop on film-video production, University of Maine, Portland-Gorham.
1976-1977 - Maine Maritime Heritage - created 6 part lecture series
at Bath Maritime Museum. December, 1975 - "House Space and Ladder
Climbing" - paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American
Anthropological Society, San Francisco. 1973 - Oscar Newman and Associates
- St. Louis Privatization Project - anthropologist consultant for major
urban renovation project in St. Louis, Mo. 1972 - Allen Moore and Associates
- the Hartcrime Project - anthropologist consultant to major urban planning
effort in Hartford, Connecticut. 1968 - National Institute of Mental
Health grant for anthropological field study in Peruvian Barriada.

Sam in Maine |
Publications
Sailing Magazine - "Mystery Island" - sailing Downeast in 2007 - in press for summer 2008.
"Nainoa
Thompson's Path to Knowledge: How Hokule'a's navigator finds his way"
- chapter in Vaka
Moana - Voyages of the Ancestors - K. R. Howe, editor, Auckland
Museum, 2006
Sailing
Magazine - "Sea of Love" - sailing the wine dark
sea - a visit to the Cyclades - October, 2007.
Sailing
Magazine - "Charter School" - article about Offshore
Sailing School - July, 2007.
2007
Calendar, Office of Hawaiian Affairs – selection of photographs
of Hokule'a.
Waka
Moana - a
chapter entitled "Nainoa Thompson's Path to Knowledge: How Hokule'a's
Navigator Finds his Way," pages 186-196 - in book published by
Auckland New Zealand Museum in December 2006 to accompany an exhibit
of Polynesian navigation and sailing.
Martha's
Vineyard Magazine
- "A
ketch named Destiny" - May-June 2006.
Soundings
magazine - "Maine Sailor Tries His Hand with Power"
- August, 2005.
Martha's
Vineyard Magazine - "It Freed His Heart" - Thomas
Hart Benton - July 2004.
Sailing
magazine - "In Search of Old Maine" - April 2004.
Soundings
magazine - "Voyage to the Marquesas," August,
2004. .
Soundings magazine
- "Polynesian Navigation," November, 2003.
Orion magazine,
"In the Wake of the Ancestors," May-June, 2003.
Newsletter, Polynesian Voyaging Society, "Voyage
to the Kupuna Islands", Spring/Summer, 2002.
Soundings magazine, "The Sea Shall Guide Them",
April, 2002.
Enrichment Reading, chapter in English language textbook
for college students in Mainland China, "From Captain Cook's Quandary
A Dream is Born," Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd. and Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press, Beijing, China, 2001.
Martha's Vineyard magazine,
"The Heart's Map," May - June, 2001.
Sailing magazine, "Stars to Steer Her By",
March, 2001.
Hana Hou Magazine,
"Guardians of the Pond," December, 2000.
Wooden Boat magazine, "Hawaii - The Spaceship
of Our Ancestors, Hokule'a," September/October, 2000.
Martha's Vineyard magazine, "Island to Island",
cover, feature story, July 2000.
The Contemporary Pacific, A Journal of Island Affairs,
University of Hawaii, Wayfinders - A Pacific Odyssey, Film Review, Vol.
12, Number 1, Spring, 2000.
Hana Hou magazine, "A gift of the Wind,"
March, 2000.
Hana Hou magazine, "Voyages of Awakening,"
and Sidebars, March 2000.
Web site, The Polynesian Voyaging Society, Voyage
to Rapa Nui - 1999-2000, daily reports from voyaging canoe Hokule'a,
feature articles, photographs - sent via satellite from the canoe and
published daily, fall 1999 - Winter 2000.
Cruising World, "A 4,000 mile Voyage into the
Past," Final Frontier Department, October 1999.
Vineyard Gazette, miscellaneous comment articles,
1999 - 2004.
Sports Car International, "The Haul of Flame,"
September, 1997.
Boston Sunday Globe, Focus Section, "Using suburban
amenities to reshape, revitalize cities," June 15, 1997.
Boston Sunday Globe, Travel section, "The Power
and the Glory - a writer searches for his roots amid the Big Island's
majesty," March 2, 1997.
LOUIE magazine, "The Zen Masters of Speed,"
fall, 1996.
WAIMEA GAZETTE, "The Best Cowpunchers on the
Planet," May 1996.
EUROPEAN CAR magazine,
"The Agony of Victory," May 1996.
SPORTS CAR INTERNATIONAL magazine,
"The Black Art," January, 1996.
SAIL magazine, "Voyage of Rediscovery,"
October, 1995.
FAST CARS AND SCIENCE, Teacher's Guide to accompany
four video modules on science and automobile racing for high school
classrooms, Project Director, May 1995.
PANORAMA magazine,
"The Time Machine," January, 1995.
PANORAMA magazine, "At play in the Force Fields
of the Lord," May, 1994.
THE NOREASTER, CHALLENGE, METRO POST, DIE WEINTRAUBE,
numerous articles and book reviews concerning racing for Porsche Club
of America newsletters, 1993-1994.
SEA HISTORY magazine, the National Maritime Historical
Society, "The Navigators, Filming The Story of the Polynesian Conquest
of the Pacific," fall, 1983.
THE NAVIGATORS - Pathfinders of the Pacific - Teachers
Guide to accompany film The Navigators - managing editor and publisher,
1983.
ODYSSEY Magazine, a teacher's guide to accompany the
Odyssey series, Consulting Editor, published by Public Broadcasting
Associates, 1980.
SEA HISTORY magazine, the National Maritime Historical
Society, "The First and Last Voyage of the Saint Mary," fall,
1977 and spring 1978, 2 part article.
FILM LIBRARY QUARTERLY, "University Press for
the Visual Media," Film Library Information Council, Vol. 12, Number
1, pp. 26-28, spring 1979.
NEWSLETTER - Society for the Anthropology of Visual Communications,
1978, miscellaneous articles concerning anthropology and film.
"House Space and Ladder Climbing," paper presented at the
74th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association,
December 3, 1975.
Ph.D. Dissertation - "The Social and Spatial
Order of a Peruvian Barriada," Harvard University, 1974.
"The privatization of Streets in St. Louis: its effect on crime
and community stability," contributing author and anthropologist
consultant for this National Science Foundation Study
of St. Louis residential areas, 1973.
PERUVIAN TIMES magazine, Lima, "The Festival
of the Apostle in Santiago de Chuco," September 22, 1972.
SAIL INDUSTRY magazine, November, 1969, article on
the vagaries of consumer behavior in the sailboat industry.
VINEYARD GAZETTE,
1960-1964, Harthaven Correspondent, miscellaneous feature articles,
printer's devil, proofreader, general "backroom" assistant.
Miscellaneous Newspapers - The Wiscasset
Paper, Gulf of Maine Times, Lincoln County Journal, Boothbay Gazette,
Boothbay Register, Lincoln County Weekly.
Photographs
Published
Saturday Review, Sea History, Soundings, Wooden Boat, Sailing,
Sail, Martha's Vineyard Magazine, Aloha, Hana Hou, The Boston Globe,
Peruvian Times, The Vineyard Gazette, European Car, Sports Car International,
Porsche Panorama, Excellence, Louie, Orion.
Press
materials - fine arts
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