Woven Skies: Material and the Movement of Air
I have been a practicing artist for over 30 years and create works spanning a wide range of media, from traditional to technological. I combine computation and biotechnology with elemental materials including mist, air, earth and glass. My work examines theories and myths related to air across cultures, technology as a bridge between breath on a human scale, air on an architectural scale, and atmosphere on a geologic scale. Noticing the invisible, tiny, subtle or fleeting moment is central to my motivation as an artist.
In 2007/2008 I traveled to the Antarctic and Arctic to work alongside climate scientists and built public artworks that visualized pollutants in order to raise awareness of the fragility of the air we breathe. I presented these at sites around the world including at the climate conference COP21 in Paris. My work then evolved toward functional structures designed to improve air. I created a public light artwork powered by a ‘nano-grid’ of wind on a city bridge and an outdoor ‘kitchen’ for growing microbes that juxtaposed ancient practices with contemporary biotechnology.
Air contains essences of place, feeling and tasting distinctly differently in varied geographies. My current work focuses on air using animations and objects imagining the shape of air in two ways: Firstly, through computational mapping of sound spectrograms, animating, 3d printing and casting resulting shapes in blown glass and other materials. Secondly, through examining materials chemistry including biochemistry to create new forms and unexpected material responses, for example creating porous foam glass shapes using chemical catalysts and more recently growing crystals on rubbers and plastics.
About Andrea
Andrea Polli is based in Santa Fe New Mexico and is a Professor with appointments in the College of Fine Arts and School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). She holds the Mesa Del Sol Endowed Chair of Digital Media. Polli holds an MFA in Time Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in practice-led research from the University of Plymouth in the UK. She has created and presented public artworks at 25 locations including a wind-powered light work covering the Rachel Carson bridge in Pittsburgh. Her artwork and research has received major support from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Fulbright. She co-edited the book Far Field: Digital Culture, Climate Change and the Poles on Intellect Press and authored Hack the Grid published by the Carnegie Museum of Art. She is the founder and board chair of SciArt Santa Fe and her current research in SciArt includes biomaterials and has taught Bio Art and Design at UNM since 2015.
Links
This talk is a joint-event with SPCS/FabCafe Kyoto. If you want to join the talk in-person, please come and visit FabCafe Kyoto!