Skip to Content

Real and Imagined: Fabric Works and Video Animations by Heidi Kumao

HK Real and Imagined email header 01
When

September 15 – December 4, 2020

Where

Hybrid Event

Stamps Gallery
201 South Division Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
Map/Directions
Hours/Access

Details

Exhibition
Open to the public
Free of charge

Stamps Gallery is pleased to present Real and Imag­ined: Fab­ric Works and Video Ani­ma­tions, a solo exhi­bi­tion of nar­ra­tive fab­ric works and exper­i­men­tal ani­ma­tions by Stamps Pro­fes­sor Heidi Kumao.

Using fab­ric cutouts and machine and hand stitch­ing on indus­trial felt, Kumao gives phys­i­cal form to the intan­gi­ble dynam­ics under­ly­ing ordi­nary con­ver­sa­tions and rela­tion­ships from a fem­i­nist per­spec­tive. Inten­tion­ally min­i­mal, each image dis­tills an inter­ac­tion, trau­matic inci­dent, or power imbal­ance into an acces­si­ble visual nar­ra­tive. Rec­og­niz­able objects such as chairs, roots, lad­ders, or spot­lights set the stage for the story to unfold. Events are cap­tured mid­stream, sus­pended in time like a felt film still.

The exhi­bi­tion is inspired, in part, by the courage, tes­ti­mony, and expe­ri­ences of women (like Chris­tine Blasey Ford) who pub­licly report assault, harass­ment, or mis­con­duct. The #MeToo move­ment gave voice to thou­sands of women to tell their per­sonal sto­ries, but also exposed a hos­tile back­lash meant to silence them. The title, ​“Real and Imag­ined,” is a delib­er­ate con­tra­dic­tion; if one is true, the other must not be. In prac­tice, how­ever, both terms are used to ref­er­ence a woman’s tes­ti­mony and deter­mine how it is pub­licly inter­preted. Her account is accepted as truth­ful by many and simul­ta­ne­ously dis­missed as imag­i­nary by the court of pub­lic opin­ion: ​“her mem­ory is wrong,” ​“she imag­ined it.”

The works in ​“Real and Imag­ined: Fab­ric Works and Video Ani­ma­tions” make dif­fi­cult con­ver­sa­tions and rela­tion­ships tan­gi­ble by strip­ping them down to their essentials.

Word­less phys­i­cal ges­tures high­light the psy­cho­log­i­cal and emo­tional forces at play behind even the small­est of interactions.

Biog­ra­phy

Heidi Kumao has cre­ated award-win­ning exper­i­men­tal films, video instal­la­tions, cin­ema machines, elec­tronic cloth­ing, and kinetic sculp­tures. She has exhib­ited her work in solo and group exhi­bi­tions nation­ally and inter­na­tion­ally includ­ing shows at Art Sci­ence Museum Sin­ga­pore, Cen­tre de Cul­tura Con­tem­porà­nia de Barcelona, Fun­dació Joan Miró (Barcelona), and Museu da Imagem e do Som (São Paulo). She has received fel­low­ships from the Cre­ative Cap­i­tal Foun­da­tion, the Guggen­heim Foun­da­tion, and the New York Foun­da­tion for the Arts. She is a pro­fes­sor at the Stamps School of Art & Design at the Uni­ver­sity of Michigan.

Related Events

Heidi Kumao: So Below Heidi Kumao: So Below Heidi Kumao: So Below
Heidi Kumao: Growth Heidi Kumao: Growth Heidi Kumao: Growth
Heidi Kumao: Reluctant Narrator Heidi Kumao: Reluctant Narrator Heidi Kumao: Reluctant Narrator
Heidi Kumao: Grey Blob Heidi Kumao: Grey Blob Heidi Kumao: Grey Blob
Heidi Kumao: Locker Heidi Kumao: Locker Heidi Kumao: Locker
Heidi Kumao: Locker (detail) Heidi Kumao: Locker (detail) Heidi Kumao: Locker (detail)
Heidi Kumao: Analog Heidi Kumao: Analog Heidi Kumao: Analog
Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation (Gust) Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation (Gust) Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation (Gust)
Heidi Kumao: Remains Heidi Kumao: Remains Heidi Kumao: Remains
Heidi Kumao: The Hearing Heidi Kumao: The Hearing Heidi Kumao: The Hearing
Heidi Kumao: Consultation Heidi Kumao: Consultation Heidi Kumao: Consultation
Heidi Kumao: Prospect Heidi Kumao: Prospect Heidi Kumao: Prospect
Heidi Kumao: Poised Heidi Kumao: Poised Heidi Kumao: Poised
Heidi Kumao: Shared Assumptions Heidi Kumao: Shared Assumptions Heidi Kumao: Shared Assumptions
Heidi Kumao: Death Bed Heidi Kumao: Death Bed Heidi Kumao: Death Bed
Heidi Kumao: Gulf of Missed Opportunities Heidi Kumao: Gulf of Missed Opportunities Heidi Kumao: Gulf of Missed Opportunities
Heidi Kumao: Safe and Secure Heidi Kumao: Safe and Secure Heidi Kumao: Safe and Secure
Heidi Kumao: Refuse Heidi Kumao: Refuse Heidi Kumao: Refuse
Heidi Kumao: Recollection Heidi Kumao: Recollection Heidi Kumao: Recollection
Heidi Kumao: 3 Hands Heidi Kumao: 3 Hands Heidi Kumao: 3 Hands
Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation 2 Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation 2 Heidi Kumao: Restrained Accommodation 2
Heidi Kumao: Gulf with Shield Heidi Kumao: Gulf with Shield Heidi Kumao: Gulf with Shield
Heidi Kumao: Holding Pattern Heidi Kumao: Holding Pattern Heidi Kumao: Holding Pattern
Heidi Kumao: Expectations Heidi Kumao: Expectations Heidi Kumao: Expectations
Heidi Kumao: Salvage Heidi Kumao: Salvage Heidi Kumao: Salvage
Heidi Kumao: Interference Heidi Kumao: Interference Heidi Kumao: Interference
Heidi Kumao: Safe and Sound 2 Heidi Kumao: Safe and Sound 2 Heidi Kumao: Safe and Sound 2
Heidi Kumao: The Hearing #2 Heidi Kumao: The Hearing #2 Heidi Kumao: The Hearing #2
Heidi Kumao: Surveillance Hill Heidi Kumao: Surveillance Hill Heidi Kumao: Surveillance Hill
Heidi Kumao: Whistle Blowers: The Same Complaint Heidi Kumao: Whistle Blowers: The Same Complaint Heidi Kumao: Whistle Blowers: The Same Complaint
Heidi Kumao: Ration Heidi Kumao: Ration Heidi Kumao: Ration
Heidi Kumao: Admissions Heidi Kumao: Admissions Heidi Kumao: Admissions
Heidi Kumao: Devoured Heidi Kumao: Devoured Heidi Kumao: Devoured
Heidi Kumao: Consultation Heidi Kumao: Consultation Heidi Kumao: Consultation
Heidi Kumao: Scamper Heidi Kumao: Scamper Heidi Kumao: Scamper
Heidi Kumao: Regard Heidi Kumao: Regard Heidi Kumao: Regard

Media

Stamps Gallery

201 South Division Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
Map/Directions

Hours
  • Sunday: Closed
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
  • Wednesday: Closed
  • Thursday: Closed
  • Friday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
  • Saturday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Fol­low­ing U-M health and safety guidelines, Stamps Gallery is currently only open to University of Michigan faculty, staff, and students with valid M-Cards on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm. All visitors must have a valid M-Card to enter Stamps Gallery. We are unable to welcome the general public to this space at this time.

Back to top