Video History Project

People

Barbara Hammer

I choose film and video as a medium to make the invisible, visible. Anyone can be left out of history. I am compelled to reveal and celebrate marginalized peoples whose stories have not been told. A multi-level cinema that engages them viscerally and intellectually activates my audiences.

I want people to leave the theater with fresh perceptions and emboldened to take active and political stances for social change in a global environment. Hammer is an internationally recognized filmmaker and teacher whose work explores issues of culture, gender and sexual orientation. Her films have been exhibited throughout the world, winning major awards from the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in Japan, the Berlin Film Festival, Frameline, the Whitney Museum Biennials, and the Ann Arbor Festival. In 1998 she had a major retrospective at Immaganaria, the 6th Women's Film Festival in Bologna.

Her trilogy of experimental documentaries on lesbian and gay histories is considered classic cinema: Nitrate Kisses (1992), Tender Fictions (1995) and History Lessons (2000). History Lessons premiered at the Frameline Film Festival, and has been screened at the Independent Feature Market and the Sundance Film Festival. A retrospective of Hammer's work was held at The Arsenal in Berlin, and also at Image in Atlanta, Georgia. She has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston); the New School for Social Research and the San Francisco Art Institute. Her works are distributed by Frameline.

Cite this record

"Barbara Hammer." Video History Project, Experimental Television Center, 2011. https://www.videohistoryproject.org/barbara-hammer.

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Summary

Barbara Hammer uses film and video to make the invisible visible and to reveal and celebrate marginalized peoples; her multi-level cinema sought visceral and intellectual engagement and encouraged stances for social change. Her work has been exhibited worldwide; in 1998 a major retrospective was held at Immaganaria, the 6th Women's Film Festival in Bologna. Her trilogy Nitrate Kisses (1992), Tender Fictions (1995) and History Lessons (2000) is considered classic cinema; retrospectives were held at The Arsenal in Berlin and at Image in Atlanta; her works are distributed by Frameline.

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Last modified 18 June 2011

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