Superdyke, 1975

Transferred 16 mm film

A comedy about a troop of shield-bearing Amazons who take over city institutions before relaxing in the country. "Superdyke" takes women into the streets when Barbara arms of a platoon of vagina warriors with Amazon shields in an attempt to overthrow San Francisco. They march through City Hall, usurp the bus lines, demythologiz the consumer mentality at Macy's (to the recorded astonishment of casual shoppers), and wander through the erotic art museum. Barbara's frenetic handheld lens catches the startled reactions and the glee of the participants. "Superdyke" has a home-movie quality to it, but its committed and loose moments in the playground confirm its comic rationale.

Barbara Hammer, Superdyke, 1975, transferred 16mm film, 4:3, color, sound, 17:32 min, Edition of 7 + 2AP

filmstills

Transferred 16mm film, 4:3, color, sound, 17:32 min, Edition of 7 + 2AP

Credits

Text: P. Gregory Springer

INDEX:

Anarchy

Feminism

Queer Culture

Power

Resistance

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Estate of Barbara Hammer

**Blue Film No 6: Love Is Where You Find It, 1998**

**Snow Job: The Media Hysteria of Aids, 1986**

Biography

Barbara Hammer was born in Hollywood in 1939. Her documentary and experimental films are considered among the earliest and most extensive representations of lesbian identity, love, and sexuality. Accompanying her career as a filmmaker, Hammer has time and again worked with performance and installation. She has participated in group exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial in 1993, the WACK! show at MOCA L.A. and MoMA PS1 in 2007/2008. With film retrospectives at New York’s MoMA in 2010 and the Tate Modern, London, in 2012, the artworld's interest in Hammer's work has recently increased. Hammer has been a teacher for many years and held a professorship at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee (CH). She died in 2019.

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