Filmmaker Barbara Hammer in Santa Cruz, 1978 © Estate Barbara Hammer, KOW Berlin
Barbara Hammer - The Woman I Love
Excursion to Exhibtion
Martin and the first class students visited the exhibition "Barbara Hammer - The Woman I Love“ at the "Franz Josefs Kai 3“
gallery (until March: AIL) and had a guided tour by curator Fiona Liewehr.
Barbara Jean Hammer (*1939 Hollywood, † 2019 New York City) is considered a pioneer of queer and feminist cinema and was one of the first filmmakers explicitly dedicated to making lesbian realities visible. In experimental as well as documentary films, photographs, drawings, collages and performances, the artist dealt with the breaking up of prevailing gender roles, lesbian identity and sexuality. Hammer's work illuminated taboo subjects such as ageing, illness, and death. The artist confronted challenges to personal and political identities and deconstructed narratives and structures that repress images of women. She formally pushed the medium of film to its limits in the spirit of the Expanded Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, seeking a fusion of film, painting, sound, and text in optically printed films and the direct involvement of the audience in performances.
This retrospective exhibition – the first of its kind in Austria – focuses on the content and significance of her visual interweaving of films, photographs, drawings, collages and performances. The exhibition develops an image of Hammer as a committed activist for the equality of all genders and an advocate for human rights. In films, photographs as well as interviews, the exhibition combines autobiographical material and artistic work that is groundbreaking for many contemporary artists.
(c) Photo Estate Barbara Hammer, courtesy: KOW, Berlin
(c) Photo "Put a Lesbian in The White House“: courtesy Fran Tonelli
Barbara Jean Hammer (*1939 Hollywood, † 2019 New York City) is considered a pioneer of queer and feminist cinema and was one of the first filmmakers explicitly dedicated to making lesbian realities visible. In experimental as well as documentary films, photographs, drawings, collages and performances, the artist dealt with the breaking up of prevailing gender roles, lesbian identity and sexuality. Hammer's work illuminated taboo subjects such as ageing, illness, and death. The artist confronted challenges to personal and political identities and deconstructed narratives and structures that repress images of women. She formally pushed the medium of film to its limits in the spirit of the Expanded Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, seeking a fusion of film, painting, sound, and text in optically printed films and the direct involvement of the audience in performances.
This retrospective exhibition – the first of its kind in Austria – focuses on the content and significance of her visual interweaving of films, photographs, drawings, collages and performances. The exhibition develops an image of Hammer as a committed activist for the equality of all genders and an advocate for human rights. In films, photographs as well as interviews, the exhibition combines autobiographical material and artistic work that is groundbreaking for many contemporary artists.
Some Artwork
The Artist
Barbara Hammer - The Woman I Love
May 10, 2021
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Students
- Eugénie Desmedt (Participant)
- Hanin Eisa (Participant)
- Catalina Escalona (Participant)
- Alfredo Ledesma Quintana (Participant)
- Veronika Nogellova (Participant)
- Malashree Suvedi (Participant)
- Teresa von Matthey (Participant)
- Márton Zalka (Participant)