EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 (opening reception); 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 15-June 8, 2015 (exhibition)

EVENT: “Ramiro Gomez: Cut-Outs”

Artist Ramiro Gomez’s life-sized cardboard figures make visible the “invisible,” the predominantly Hispanic workforce of affluent areas of Los Angeles. His subjects are the nannies, gardeners, housekeepers: the people behind our images of luxury.

Gomez is himself the son of working-class Mexican immigrants. He grew up in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles. He left the California Institute of the Arts before finishing and went to work as a live-in nanny in Beverly Hills, where he keenly observed the relationships between heads of households and their staff.

During his October 2014 residency at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities, Gomez explored campus, looking for inspiration for the life-sized cardboard figures he created here. The newly created, painted cardboard cutouts appeared unexpectedly on campus, reflecting Gomez’s astute observations, raising questions, and providing an opportunity to reflect on the U-M campus.

For this exhibition, Gomez will create a room-sized installation of his cutouts.

PLACE: Institute for the Humanities Gallery, 202 S. Thayer, Ann Arbor

INFORMATION: The event is free to the public. A reception and meet-and-greet kicks off the exhibition. Visit myumi.ch/LBpQ6.

SPONSOR: U-M Institute for the Humanities