Past
experience: Barbara Neri is a multidisciplinary artist and independent
scholar. She holds a MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan
and a BS in Art Education from Butler University and Herron Art
School. Since 1995 the focus of her work has been the life and work
of Victorian Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In response, Neri
created "The EBB Project." The project is a synergy of
creative processes in performance, visual art & writing that
sets in motion a dance between criticism and art, word and image.
As
part of the performance aspect of the project, Neri has been recreating
EBB as she appeared in three iconographic images, working in collaboration
with artisans and curators of mid Victorian dress. Neri's paper:
"Creating Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Image: what she wore
and what it means" has been presented before The Boston Browning
Society and The Costume Society of America.
As
a performer, Neri recreated Elizabeth in a biography of performances
that culminated in her newest performance piece: "The Consolation
of Poetry." In the work, Neri becomes the poet and carries
on a dialogue with her in the process. The piece premiered in March
2002 at the University of Michigan Media Union Video Production
Studio and was produced again October 2003 at Eastern Michigan University.
Performances from "The EBB Project" have been presented
in Michigan, Texas, Massachusetts, New York and Canada.
As
a visual artist, Neri has since 1995 produced a series of two and
three dimensional works emanating from "The EBB Project."
The performance relics, visual art, objects, and recreation of EBB's
image (garments, hair) all stemming from the project have been exhibited
in two installations: most recently installed in November of 2002
at the Ann Arbor District Library. Neri's visual art was awarded
third place in the Kreft Gallery 2000 National Show. Her "10
dream drawings" will be published in the March 2004 issue of
Performance Research.
As a writer, Neri's articles, creative works and interviews have
been published in P-From, Agenda, Studies in Browning and His Circle,
and The Drama Review. She is a published Barrett Browning scholar,
focused primarily on EBB's Sonnets from the Portuguese. She is creating
a book of art/criticism on the Love Sonnets. She was a visiting
research fellow at The Armstrong Browning Library. Her latest paper
on EBB's Love Sonnets was presented at the library's golden jubilee
celebration and will be published by the library. Neri's script
for "The Consolation of Poetry" was published in the Fall
2003 issue of The Drama Review.
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