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Course: Tate > Unit 3
Lesson 4: Women's Issues in Art- Margaret Harrison: Feminism, irony, and women's rights
- The Folkestone Mermaid and the model figure
- Lily van der Stokker's "non-shouting feminism"
- Barbara Hammer: Pushing the boundaries of cinema and the body
- Keren Cytter: Radical gender reversals and theatrical performance
- Key Points
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Barbara Hammer: Pushing the boundaries of cinema and the body
This video brought to you by Tate.org.uk
Barbara Hammer is a pivotal figure in American experimental film. An acclaimed pioneer of queer cinema, her prolific output includes the earliest avant-garde films that openly address lesbian life and sexuality. Using her own body, Hammer explores the nature of film itself, appearing to push at the edges of the frame in an effort to push cinema from the its typical rectangular form to something new–like the circle. With this new circular form, Hammer takes film off the screen and projects it into the space an audience is in, making it necessary to move to view the film.
Barbara Hammer is a pivotal figure in American experimental film. An acclaimed pioneer of queer cinema, her prolific output includes the earliest avant-garde films that openly address lesbian life and sexuality. Using her own body, Hammer explores the nature of film itself, appearing to push at the edges of the frame in an effort to push cinema from the its typical rectangular form to something new–like the circle. With this new circular form, Hammer takes film off the screen and projects it into the space an audience is in, making it necessary to move to view the film.
In addition to pushing the boundaries of film, Hammer has pushed for acceptance of the female body and sexuality, and a break from artifice and disguise. How does art that challenges its medium lend itself to challenging social issues?
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In the text accompanying this clip and the previous ones, questions are raised that could make for interesting discussions, but I'm not quite sure where I should post my thoughts on them? It feels neither suitable for the Questions section, nor the Tips&Thanks one.(6 votes)
Hi Madeliv, thanks for bringing this up -- it's a good point to address. Please feel free to post any responses, thoughts, questions, and observations in the Questions section. I know it's a bit different from the typical KA setup, but hopefully we'll be able to get some good discussions going this way.
We're really glad to see that you and others are interested in thinking and talking about art, so discuss away! And I'm here if you have any burning questions. :)(6 votes)
Video transcript
you acticin is not trance cinema active cinema repeatedly points to itself the cinema active cinema is its own this is Barbara hammer at the Tate the Tate Modern tonight I'm doing a performance called changing the shape of film taking film off the screen into the space that the audience is in so I project around the architectural details of wherever I am the audience has to move to be able to see the image the image is me when as 30 years old pushing the frame trying to change cinema from a prescribed rectangular form into something different and in this case a circle if my thought was the blood is running through your veins and your arteries to move it's also running through your mind to think if you see an outrage on television you'll take action you won't be passive in front of the tube I want you to be aware of your own body in your own minds in your own thought critical thinking while you're watching that was the whole premise that I built this performance around the I was raised without a religion middle class but I was raised with rules and expectations from my parents I wanted to break away from those from the beginning I felt that I wasn't like everyone else close disguised the body and I was trying to break away from artifice and disguise showing things like multiple orgasm menstruation female acceptance of bodily processes and this was pretty unusual for the early 70s but I wasn't conscious of that I wasn't thinking of where I fit in film history I knew that I was an artist and then I wanted to make a mark in the world there was a blank screen in terms of women's cinema and most importantly there was no lesbian cinema and I had just come out putting my emotional connections with women as a group who are and continued to be second-class citizens invigorate to the audience active cinema move this might be the last time that I perform the piece one doesn't know I think good work lives forever it doesn't feel dated to me and I don't think we we have an active cinema still you you