Spencer MacCallum
Encyclopedia
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He also is notable for his discovery of the pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
of the town of Mata Ortiz
Mata Ortiz
Mata Ortiz is a small village in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, less than from the US-Mexico border. The community, population 2,000, is one of the designated localidades in the municipio libre of Casas Grandes, one of several such pueblos in a wide, fertile valley long inhabited by indigenous...
, Chihuahua, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
MacCallum graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a Bachelors in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and received a Masters of Arts in social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. He specialized in studying the life, culture and stateless society
Stateless society
A stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state. In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power and are generally not permanently held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through...
of Northwest Coast Indians. He is the grandson of Spencer Heath
Spencer Heath
Spencer Heath was an American engineer, attorney, inventor, manufacturer, horticulturist, poet, philosopher of science and social thinker. An anarchist and a dissenter from Georgist economic views, he pioneered the theory of proprietary governance and community in his book Citadel, Market and Altar...
, anarcho-capitalist and Georgist dissenter. In 1956 MacCallum and his grandfather founded the Science of Society Foundation which published a number of works including Heath's book Citadel, Market, and Altar. MacCallum was for many years an active researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
and lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
for academic and business clients. He remains a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute
Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is a libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 byDavid J. Theroux , the Institute sponsors studies of major political, social, economic, legal, environmental and foreign policy issues. It has more than 140 research fellows. The Institute was...
.
MacCallum shared his grandfather's interest in multi-tenant properties where developers lease properties and are responsible for providing community services
Voluntary community
A voluntary society, voluntary community or voluntary city is one in which all property and all services are provided through voluntary means, such as private or cooperative ownership...
, thereby replacing the functions of the state. He details these ideas in his 1970 booklet "The Art of Community"; his 2003 articles "The Enterprise of Community: Market Competition, Land, and Environment" and "Looking Back and Forward" (which describes the influence of his grandfather); and his 2005 article on stateless social organization "From Upstate New York to the Horn of Africa". He edited and published the book "The Law of the Somalis" by Michael van Notten which deals with the foundations of private law as it was in Somalia (see History of Somalia (1991-2006)).
Through his grandfather, MacCallum met alternative currency
Alternative currency
Alternative currency is a term that refers to any currency used as an alternative to the dominant national or multinational currency systems...
theorist E.C. Riegel
E.C. Riegel
Edwin Clarence Riegel , generally known as E.C. Riegel, was an independent scholar, author and consumer advocate who campaigned against restrictions on free markets that harmed consumers and promoted an alternative monetary theory and an early private enterprise currency alternative.Best selling...
. After Riegel’s death, MacCallum obtained all Riegel’s papers, which now reside with the Heather Foundation, of which MacCullum is director. During the 1970s MacCallum re-published Riegel’s books “The New Approach to Freedom” and “Private Enterprise Money” and collected his papers into a new book called Flight from Inflation: The Monetary Alternative.
In 1976, MacCallum discovered artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
Juan Quezada, who soon became the leader of the now-thriving pottery movement located in Mata Ortiz
Mata Ortiz
Mata Ortiz is a small village in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, less than from the US-Mexico border. The community, population 2,000, is one of the designated localidades in the municipio libre of Casas Grandes, one of several such pueblos in a wide, fertile valley long inhabited by indigenous...
, a small town near the ancient Paquime (or Casa Grandes) ruins in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. McCallum is the author of many articles on Mata Ortiz, as well as introduction to the book, Portraits of Clay: Potters of Mata Ortiz. His efforts helped the pottery win acceptance as a contemporary art form and a legitimate folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
.
MacCallum lives in nearby Casas Grandes and still plays a key role in Mata Ortiz affairs.
External links
- Mata Ortiz Calendar, maintained by Spencer and Emalie MacCallum. Links to photos of Mata Ortiz pottery, news, exhibits, etc.