Harmony Hammond
Encyclopedia
Harmony Hammond is an American
artist and writer.
in 1972; it was the first women's cooperative art gallery in New York
. She also co-edited and co-founded Heresies: A Feminist Publication of Art and Politics in 1976.
In 1984, she moved to New Mexico
. As a tenured full professor, Hammond taught painting, combined media and graduate critiques at the University of Arizona
in Tucson, from 1988 to 2005.
In her art, Harmony Hammond asserts that traditionally feminine qualities are worthwhile artistic subjects and means for artistic creation. To this end, for example, she created sculptures in the early 1970s featuring swaths of fabric, a traditionally female material, as a primary material; in the early 1970s she also made a series of rag rugs as art. Harmony Hammond's paintings themselves show how they were made and are almost all abstract.
Harmony Hammond is openly lesbian
, and curated A Lesbian Show in 1978 at 122 Green Street Workshop, featuring works by lesbian artists.
In 2000 she published Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History. She is featured in two 2010 films on feminist art - The Heretics, directed by Joan Braderman which focuses on the founders of the magazines Heresies: A Feminist Publication of Art and Politics in 1976; and !Women Art Revolution
, directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson
.
, Haags Gementemuseum, the Vancouver Art Gallery
, National Academy Museum, and Museo Tamayo. Her works are also included in permanent collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the Walker Art Center
, the Brooklyn Museum
, the National Museum of Women in the Arts
, the Art Institute of Chicago
, and the Wadsworth Atheneum
.
She has received fellowships
from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation
, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
, the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation
, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation
among others.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist and writer.
Biography
Harmony Hammond earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1967. She co-founded the A.I.R. GalleryA.I.R. Gallery
A.I.R. was the first all female cooperative gallery in the United States. It was founded in 1972 with the objective of providing a professional and permanent exhibition space for women artists during a time in which the works shown at commercial galleries in New York City were almost exclusively by...
in 1972; it was the first women's cooperative art gallery in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She also co-edited and co-founded Heresies: A Feminist Publication of Art and Politics in 1976.
In 1984, she moved to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. As a tenured full professor, Hammond taught painting, combined media and graduate critiques at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson, from 1988 to 2005.
In her art, Harmony Hammond asserts that traditionally feminine qualities are worthwhile artistic subjects and means for artistic creation. To this end, for example, she created sculptures in the early 1970s featuring swaths of fabric, a traditionally female material, as a primary material; in the early 1970s she also made a series of rag rugs as art. Harmony Hammond's paintings themselves show how they were made and are almost all abstract.
Harmony Hammond is openly 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...
, and curated A Lesbian Show in 1978 at 122 Green Street Workshop, featuring works by lesbian artists.
In 2000 she published Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History. She is featured in two 2010 films on feminist art - The Heretics, directed by Joan Braderman which focuses on the founders of the magazines Heresies: A Feminist Publication of Art and Politics in 1976; and !Women Art Revolution
!Women Art Revolution
!Women Art Revolution is a 2010 documentary film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson and distributed by Zeitgeist Films. It was released theatrically in the United States on June 1, 2011.-Synopsis:...
, directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson
Lynn Hershman Leeson
Lynn Hershman Leeson is an award-winning American artist and filmmaker. She was Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Davis, and an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
.
Works and recognition
Harmony Hammond has over more than 30 solo exhibitions internationally. Her works have been shown in the Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, Haags Gementemuseum, the Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...
, National Academy Museum, and Museo Tamayo. Her works are also included in permanent collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
, the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, the National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts , located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay...
, the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, and the Wadsworth Atheneum
Wadsworth Atheneum
The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
.
She has received fellowships
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
, the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation
Established in 1976, the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation provides financial grants to visual artists through two programs: an annual Individual Support Grant and an Emergency Grant to assist visual artists in cases of catastrophic events....
, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation
Pollock-Krasner Foundation
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressionist painter and the widow of fellow painter Jackson...
among others.