Barbara Freeman

I have been a student of many different art forms my entire life. Be it visual art, music or comedy, my tastes run to those who practice artistic choices that are not necessarily popular to a wide spectrum of consumers. For... [more]

I have been a student of many different art forms my entire life. Be it visual art, music or comedy, my tastes run to those who practice artistic choices that are not necessarily popular to a wide spectrum of consumers. For instance, in jazz I am partial to Mark Murphy, Lambert-Hendricks and Ross, Jackie Paris and Anne-Marie Ross. All of them somewhat obscure, but I enjoy these musicians for their amazing use of time and space. To me they are the Einstein's of jazz. I was exposed to these musicians in my childhood thanks to a crazy jazz radio station, whose studio was located in the middle of the Ohio River. In comedy, the Marx Brothers, Moms Mabley, Jonathan Winters, Shelley Berman, Gilda Radner, and Paul Mooney, among others, use anarchy. I love this device because it highlights the senseless choices we humans make in acting out our lives. Being exposed to these people through television, gave me a love for humor that sent me on a quest that ended up at the Comedy Store. I was a talent coordinator there from 1980-83. The area in which I really excel is art. I eventually went back to school to get an MFA, albeit late in life. I had fallen in love with the fabrication of works in three dimensions, and the rest is history. I now pursue work in the realm of Public Art, as well as mentoring other artists and doing some consulting work. I have worked for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency as an art consultant. I also did a work for the city of Los Angeles called "Sofa Henge," which was made from cast off sofas which were dumped on city streets. I received a grant for that piece, that advertised a 800 number one can call to have your bulky items picked up. That provides a better alternative than leaving refuse on the street. As you can glean from my statement, I have had a spectrum of experience in several art fields. I will be looking forward to contributing my spin my favorite fields for art+culture. [show less]