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Jana Rumberger

Jana Rumberger

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Metafictions

Metafiction, definition from Wikipedia:

Fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions (especially naturalism) and traditional narrative techniques. It poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. It can be compared to presentational theatre, which does not let the audience forget it is viewing a play; metafiction forces readers to be aware that they are reading a fictional work.

The term is from literature, mostly to describe stories where the author speaks directly to the reader, breaking down the wall between the fiction of the story and the reader’s understanding of reality. 

I loved metafiction before I knew what it was – the way that a story can both cut into and reinforce fantasy, the way it confirms and questions a specific reality. A story that pokes holes in itself as it builds. 

In my old apartment building in Chinatown, hundreds of lives operate alongside each other. If you were to slice the building neatly in half, you would see those disconnected lives in contrast and the layers of stories that never connect. The most densely packed mysteries live right next door.

I’ve appropriated the term metafiction to describe the way I am playing with context and the art object. 

Each metafiction is an installation of handmade miniature works of art, but they are my own work – some are miniatures of paintings I made in 2001, or an installation I finished in 2006, while others currently exist only as miniatures. Each miniature body of work is a cohesive body of work with its own concepts and materiality.

These different collections of work wouldn’t normally be seen together because they are so different from each other, and this process allows me to connect all of what I do in a way that also plays with the idea of context and how context affects the understanding and response to art.

Metafictions don’t become “metafiction” until the full-scale work is complete, whether it is installed in the space directly, or when the viewer has knowledge of the full-scale work through experience or reproduction. 

This experience underlines the fact that the works in each metafiction are not arbitrary paintings and sculptures designed to fill a cute miniature space. They are cohesive bodies of work intentionally placed in different contexts.

The tension and value of the metafiction is the way that it blurs the implied solid line between fiction and reality. The experience of the full-scale and miniature work together break the viewer from absolute sureness about their role in relation to the work.

Gallery view State Metafictions Jana Rumberger art
Modernist alchemy metafiction detail Jana Rumberger art
Modernist alchemy metafiction detail Jana Rumberger art
Modernist alchemy metafiction detail Jana Rumberger art
Metafictions in progress on wall Jana Rumberger art
Gallery view State Metafictions Jana Rumberger art
State metafictions window
State Metafiction: Home Sale Prices By Year 1971-2015, Median San Francisco, CA, Median California, Median United States Jana. Rumberger Art
State Metafiction: Home Sale Prices By Year 1971-2015, Median San Francisco, CA, Median California, Median United States
Wood, thread, fabric, gesso, 16 x 23 x 7 in, 2017
Metafiction from left: Change in Average Income of the Top 1%, Productivity, and Average Overall Wages 1979-2013, Gold piano, Shannon, Taylor Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction from left: Change in Average Income of the Top 1%, Productivity, and Average Overall Wages 1979-2013, Gold piano, Shannon, Taylor
Wood, acrylic, thread, paper, 18 x 24 x 12 in, 2016
Metafiction from left: All Federal Taxes Top 1% and Middle 20% 1979-2009, The creatures from Hoth, A delicate net, Invisible cities, Tower to reach you, Dam to kill a town, Bridge to reach you, I have too much inside, We danced until 8:30, My little starry one Jana Rumberger, art
Metafiction from left: All Federal Taxes Top 1% and Middle 20% 1979-2009, The creatures from Hoth, A delicate net, Invisible cities, Tower to reach you, Dam to kill a town, Bridge to reach you, I have too much inside, We danced until 8:30, My little starry one
Wood, acrylic, thread, 8 x 10 x 8 in, 2016
Metafiction from left: Martin Van Buren/Santa, Gerald Ford/Santa, Benjamin Harrison/Santa, Historical Marginal Tax Rates for the Highest and Lowest Wage Earners 1913-2009 jana rumberger art
Metafiction from left: Martin Van Buren/Santa, Gerald Ford/Santa, Benjamin Harrison/Santa, Historical Marginal Tax Rates for the Highest and Lowest Wage Earners 1913-2009
Wood, acrylic, thread, felt, 8 x 12 x 8 in, 2016
Metafiction, from left: Self-portrait with Oregon Caves, Christmas 1994, Charlie & Manson/Heidi, Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction, from left: Self-portrait with Oregon Caves, Christmas 1994, Charlie Manson/Heidi
Wood, clay, paper, acrylic, thread, feathers, felt, 16 x 20 x 11 in, 2016
Metafiction, from left: Cars & Ladders, Segue (Rope bridge) Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction, from left: Cars & Ladders, Segue (Rope bridge)
Wood, thread, plastic, acrylic, paper, 14 x 24 x 9 in, 2016
Metafiction from left: Cupid Shot Me With Your Arrow, The structure that supports what could be, Giraffe angel, The city is angry as it is being built, Personal sinkhole, Median US Household Income vs. Share of US Households with No Earners 1980 – 2014, jana rumberger art
Metafiction from left: Cupid Shot Me With Your Arrow, The structure that supports what could be, Giraffe angel, The city is angry as it is being built, Personal sinkhole, Median US Household Income vs. Share of US Households with No Earners 1980 – 2014
Wood, acrylic, thread, matte medium, ink, 12 x 16 x 3 in, 2016
Metafiction, from left: Sad water, boats, Anxious to reach you Jana rumberger art
Metafiction, from left: Sad water, boats, Anxious to reach you
20 x 16 x 16 in, 2016
Metafiction, Global Carbon Emissions By Source 1960-2011 - Coal, Oil, Gas, Cement and Flaring, Land Use, Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction, Global Carbon Emissions By Source 1960-2011 – Coal, Oil, Gas, Cement and Flaring, Land Use
Wood, thread, fabric, gesso, 14 x 19 x 10 in, 2017
Metafiction: Alchemical Laboratory Jana Rumberger Art
Metafiction: Alchemical Laboratory
Wood, acrylic, plastic, scotch tape, wire, metallic pigment, shea butter, thread, fabric, 18 x 24 x 5 in, 2016
Metafiction from left: Disconnect Between Typical Workers’ Productivity and Compensation 1948–2014, Top 1 % vs. Top .1% Pre-Tax Income Share 1913–2013, Real Estate Equity versus Dow Jones Industrial Average 2001-2008, Modernist Alchemy, Modernist Alchemy, One Struggle of Memory Redact Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction from left: Disconnect Between Typical Workers’ Productivity and Compensation 1948–2014, Top 1 % vs. Top .1% Pre-Tax Income Share 1913–2013, Real Estate Equity versus Dow Jones Industrial Average 2001-2008, Modernist Alchemy, Modernist Alchemy, One Struggle of Memory Redact
Wood, acrylic, plastic, fabric, metallic pigment, thread, 18 x 24 x 4 in, 2016
Metafiction: Memory Cages 1998 Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction: Memory Cages 1998
Paper, scotch tape, cheesecloth, felt, acrylic, wire, wood, 12 x 16 x 9 in, 2016
Metafiction: Painting Salon
Metafiction: Painting Salon
Wood, paper, plastic, felt, acrylic, ink, 18 x 24 x 5 in, 2017
Metafiction: After 5 Pointz/Grosse Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction: After 5 Pointz/Grosse
Clay, wood, thread, acrylic, 12 x 16 x 5.5 in, 2017
Metafiction: Rape/Sexual Assualt Against Intimate Female Partners in the US 1992-2013 Jana Rumberger art
Metafiction: Rape/Sexual Assault Against Intimate Female Partners in the US 1992-2013
Wood, thread, fabric, gesso, 10 x 15 x 8 in, 2017

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