TPI - 2002

Research as Art, Art as Research

Heidi Kumao

Kumao Synopsis

by Heike Liss

Heidi Kumao uses technology to create a spectacle for the viewer. In her art she explores psychological cycles and physical conditions in day-to-day situations.

During the lecture, Kumao first gave us an overview of the history of cinematographic machines and mechanics and then she presented us with four types of work, including Cinema machines, Emotion machines, 2-D animations and a collaborative project called Nomadica.

Starting in 1991, Kumao built cinema machines for intimate installations, projecting loops of day-to-day situations and household activities. In another body of work she explored the modernized zoetrope based on 19th century cinematographic technologies. Kumao regards her machines as “small persons” that talk to each other, themselves and the viewer. She regards these pieces as visual dichotomies that create equally valid ways to read a sequence. Kumao uses dichotomy as a useful means to question people’s realities and to look at the appearance of things (as nothing is what it seems) and to examine areas of uncertainty and co-existing realities. Kumao stated a love-hate relationship with technology that derives from wanting something physical. She “makes” something physical, either an object or a thing, in order to respond to a space. The mechanisms of Kumao’s machines are usually visible in order to allow a conversation between the mechanism and the illusion or image.

In 1999 Kumao received a fellowship at MIT where she was exposed to Robot-technology and which led to the creation of three sculptural pieces utilizing these mechanics. Kumao introduced Lullaby, a robotic stroller with video projections; Letter Never Sent, a video projection on typewriting paper in an old, mechanical typewriter; and Protest, a mechanical girl’s leg.

She describes that in such a techno-centric environment she was made to rethink her role as an artist and engage her interest in the history of the neuro-sciences and emotions, only to discover that emotions are not a serious subject to scientists. This research led to Emotion Machines/Saving Time. Using chemical glassware and sand, Kumao created poetic pieces that reference her own body size as a way to measure personal and psychological time spaces.

Nomadica (No Strings Attached) is a collaborative public art project by AnT, an all-women artist group. Nomadica examines and researches wireless technology in our culture and questions and critiques the security of data lists. Offering “fake” but “real looking” wireless devices in a storefront and seducing visitors into giving out personal data in exchange for a free mug, Nomadica tries to create a different kind of experience for the audience. They hope that this will lead to a greater awareness of data availability and abuse.

The presentation led to a series of questions regarding the issue of technology, the relationship of science fiction, reality, virtual reality, and our anxiety around the future and how we as artists can subvert the status quo. A project called How Can I Remove Myself From Data Lists? was suggested and Kumao mentioned a project by the Institute for Applied Autonomy that provides maps of all the surveillance cameras in Manhattan, both as a means of support for undermining this particular controlling system that is applied in the urban environment. It examines the question of how to get from point A to point B while avoiding as many cameras as possible.

Heidi Kumao’s work can be viewed and read about on her website http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bearqueen/ which includes a thorough historical overview of the history of cinematographic machines and mechanics.


	Research as Art, Art as Research Heidi Kumao Kumao Synopsis by Heike Liss Heidi Kumao uses technology to create a spectacle for the viewer. In her art she explores psychological cycles and physical conditions in day-to-day situations. During the lecture, Kumao first gave us an overview of the history of cinematographic machines and mechanics and then she presented us with four types of work, including Cinema machines, Emotion machines, 2-D animations and a collaborative project called Nomadica. Starting in 1991, Kumao built cinema machines for intimate installations, projecting loops of day-to-day situations and household activities. In another body of work she explored the modernized zoetrope based on 19th century cinematographic technologies. Kumao regards her machines as “small persons” that talk to each other, themselves and the viewer. She regards these pieces as visual dichotomies that create equally valid ways to read a sequence. Kumao uses dichotomy as a useful means to question people’s realities and to look at the appearance of things (as nothing is what it seems) and to examine areas of uncertainty and co-existing realities. Kumao stated a love-hate relationship with technology that derives from wanting something physical. She “makes” something physical, either an object or a thing, in order to respond to a space. The mechanisms of Kumao’s machines are usually visible in order to allow a conversation between the mechanism and the illusion or image. In 1999 Kumao received a fellowship at MIT where she was exposed to Robot-technology and which led to the creation of three sculptural pieces utilizing these mechanics. Kumao introduced Lullaby, a robotic stroller with video projections; Letter Never Sent, a video projection on typewriting paper in an old, mechanical typewriter; and Protest, a mechanical girl’s leg. She describes that in such a techno-centric environment she was made to rethink her role as an artist and engage her interest in the history of the neuro-sciences and emotions, only to discover that emotions are not a serious subject to scientists. This research led to Emotion Machines/Saving Time. Using chemical glassware and sand, Kumao created poetic pieces that reference her own body size as a way to measure personal and psychological time spaces. Nomadica (No Strings Attached) is a collaborative public art project by AnT, an all-women artist group. Nomadica examines and researches wireless technology in our culture and questions and critiques the security of data lists. Offering “fake” but “real looking” wireless devices in a storefront and seducing visitors into giving out personal data in exchange for a free mug, Nomadica tries to create a different kind of experience for the audience. They hope that this will lead to a greater awareness of data availability and abuse. The presentation led to a series of questions regarding the issue of technology, the relationship of science fiction, reality, virtual reality, and our anxiety around the future and how we as artists can subvert the status quo. A project called How Can I Remove Myself From Data Lists? was suggested and Kumao mentioned a project by the Institute for Applied Autonomy that provides maps of all the surveillance cameras in Manhattan, both as a means of support for undermining this particular controlling system that is applied in the urban environment. It examines the question of how to get from point A to point B while avoiding as many cameras as possible. Heidi Kumao’s work can be viewed and read about on her website http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bearqueen/ which includes a thorough historical overview of the history of cinematographic machines and mechanics.