Stephanie Barber is a filmmaker and writer whose films and videos have screened internationally in solo and group shows at the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center and elsewhere. This month, she joins Moore College of Art & Design as a new associate professor and program head for Film & Digital Cinema. Help us welcome Barber to Moore and be sure to check out their work at stephaniebarber.com.
Stephanie Barber, Still from another horizon still reminds me of me.
What’s your earliest memory of being creative or knowing that you wanted to do something creative with your life?
My earliest memory of taking “making” seriously was learning how to type when I was about nine years old. I had been writing poems, very seriously, for a few years and I think I understood typed to be finished, or published.
Who is the artist or designer who has influenced you most and why?
The artists who have influenced me most are friends and filmmakers and writers with whom I’ve been sharing and viewing and showing work all these years of adult-making-hood. I feel influenced by my community, my students, my friends and my imagined audience.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done recently, professionally or otherwise?
I recently took part in the Saul Zaentz Storylab in Baltimore, MD. This was a beautifully organized, diverse and intergenerational meeting of mentors and makers, all discussing and pitching their film projects. I found it so incredibly interesting and helpful, and such a rare glimpse into many different makers’ processes and goals. It was emotional, informative and exhausting!
What will it be like in your classroom at Moore?
I hope it will be like any discovery—challenging, funny, flailing and enlightening. I hope the students will help themselves and me and their classmates to find a good balance between working and sharing, talking and viewing, effort and enjoyment.
If Moore had a mascot, what would it be?
OH! I think this question is too advanced for me. I don’t yet have a sense of the spirit of the place. I have just read that the name Moore comes from the Middle English mor, meaning open land or bog. A bog might be a nice mascot. They are carbon sinks and are generally places of incredible diversity. They do so much! A bog mascot! Fecund and powerful!
Stephanie Barber, Trial in the Woods.
All images courtesy of the artist.
