I am Jenny Barr, a contemporary fine art photographer living in San Francisco. I am currently working on obtaining a Master of Fine Arts in photography at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. It was through my classes at the Academy that I discovered how much my background in psychology, a BA from San Francisco State, plays into the way I photograph my subjects.
My thesis project Vulnerable is self portraiture and is rooted in Expressionism and diaristic in narrative. The constructed images are simplistic in their aesthetic but employ depths of emotion and desaturated color to create impactful imagery. My approach is to photograph the way things feel rather than how they look as I draw inspiration from other diaristic photographers such as Nan Goldin, Jen Davis and Elinor Carruci.
My imagery has been featured in the San Francisco APA’s annual Something Personal show in December 2015 as well as at an international exhibition Four Walls Four Women in Florence, Italy where I was lucky enough to attend a year long residency program. The program, coupled with my online classes gave me the flexibility I needed to successfully complete my school work and push my thesis project to the next level.
I love to travel! Italy is my happy place on this earth. It was when I went to Italy for the first time that I realized I am my happiest when I am walking around, camera in hand and discovering new people and places through my viewfinder. This realization is the reason that I decided to enter the MFA program in photography at Academy of Art University.
In my spare time I like to volunteer my photographic skills for Bay Area non-profits, drink Italian wines with a few close friends and eat as much Italian and Mexican food as humanly possible!