Real and Imagined Terror

Traumatic events occupy a strange place in our lives. They can feel ever-present even after years, and yet in the passage of time memories of the event -- still so painful, so real -- can warp and fade and even change. The ubiquitous presence of handheld recording devices results in trauma that can be fixed in the public memory, but even with this permanent record of a moment, memories can fray the edges of it with time. In the Aftermath of Trauma: Contemporary Video Installations, the new exhibition at the Mildred Lane Kemper Museum on Washington University Campus (1 Brookings Drive; 314-935-4523 or www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu), features artists who work with the semi-documentary video format. In other words, the blend of the true documentation of a horrific event -- the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict, sexual violence against women since the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan -- and survivors' memories to explore where history and memory converge and diverge. In the Aftermath of Trauma opens with a free reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, January 31. The show remains on display through Sunday, April 20, and the gallery is open every day except Tuesday. Admission is free.
Mondays, Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Jan. 31. Continues through April 20, 2014