Barbara Hammer
Encyclopedia
Barbara Hammer is an American
filmmaker in the genre of experimental film
s and a professor at European Graduate School
in Saas-Fee
.
. She is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor's degree
in psychology
. She also holds two Master's degree
s from San Francisco State University
, one in English literature
and one in film
. She also took postgraduate classes in the field of digital media
.
In her early thirties, Hammer was married and teaching at a community college in Santa Rosa, California
. Around this time she came out as a lesbian
, after talking with another student in a Feminist group.
Hammer is known for creating groundbreaking experimental films dealing with women's issues such as gender roles, lesbian relationships and coping with aging and family. Hammer is responsible for some of the first lesbian-made films in history, including Dyketactics (1974) and Women I Love (1976).
She received the first Shirley Clarke Avant-Garde Filmmaker Award in October 2006, the Women In Film Award from the St. Louis International Film Festival in 2006, and in 2009 Barbara Hammer received the Teddy Award for the best short film for her film 'A Horse Is Not A Metaphor' at The International Berlin Film Festival.
There have been two "re-makes" or "re-interpretations" of Hammer's film Dyketactics:
In 2010, Hammer published her autobiography, HAMMER! Making Movies Out of Sex and Life, which addresses her personal history and her philosophies on art.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker in the genre of experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
s and a professor at European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
.
Biography
Hammer was born in Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. She also holds two Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, one in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and one in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. She also took postgraduate classes in the field of digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
.
In her early thirties, Hammer was married and teaching at a community college in Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
. Around this time she came out as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, after talking with another student in a Feminist group.
Hammer is known for creating groundbreaking experimental films dealing with women's issues such as gender roles, lesbian relationships and coping with aging and family. Hammer is responsible for some of the first lesbian-made films in history, including Dyketactics (1974) and Women I Love (1976).
She received the first Shirley Clarke Avant-Garde Filmmaker Award in October 2006, the Women In Film Award from the St. Louis International Film Festival in 2006, and in 2009 Barbara Hammer received the Teddy Award for the best short film for her film 'A Horse Is Not A Metaphor' at The International Berlin Film Festival.
There have been two "re-makes" or "re-interpretations" of Hammer's film Dyketactics:
- Untitled ( Dyketatics Revisited) (Liz Rosenfeld, 2005)
- Fagtactics (Scott Berry, 2002)
In 2010, Hammer published her autobiography, HAMMER! Making Movies Out of Sex and Life, which addresses her personal history and her philosophies on art.
Partial Filmography
- A Gay Day (1973)
- Dyketactics (1974)
- Lesbian Humor:Collection of short films" (1980–1987)
- Nitrate KissesNitrate KissesNitrate Kisses is a 1992 experimental documentary film directed by Barbara Hammer. According to Hammer, it is an exploration of the repression and marginalization of LGBT people since the First World War.-Overview:...
(1992) - Tender Fictions (1996)
- The Female Closet (1998)
- Resisting Paradise (2003)
- Love Other (2006)
- Fucking Different New York (2007) (segment "Villa Serbolloni")
- A Horse is not a Metaphor (2009) (Teddy AwardTeddy AwardThe Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival . Here, an "independent jury" implies that its members are not officially selected by the committee of the Berlinale...
) - Maya Deren's Sink (2011)
- Generations
External links
- Official site
- Barbara Hammer Faculty page at European Graduate SchoolEuropean Graduate SchoolThe European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
(Biography, bibliography, photos and videos)