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Timeline

1980's

Artists Team Up
for the Future

1990's

Visualizing the Invisible

2000's

Artists as Stakeholders

2010-

Herstory & Beyond

1980s : Artists Team Up for the Future

In the early 1980s, Sandor explored the relationship between photography, sculpture, and video art, while being inspired by the spiritual nature of Outsider Art.  Her unique vision to integrate more traditional with nascent art forms including computer graphics, resulted in a new medium she called PHSColograms–3D barrier-screen computer-generated photographs and sculptures.  In 1983, she formed the (art)n collective with SAIC peers, James Zanzi, Gina Uhlmann, Gary Justis and Randy Johnson, whose debut installation of PHSCologram ’83 made the cover of the New Art Examiner.  

PHSCologram ’83 attracted the attention of Dan Sandin, Tom DeFanti and Phil Morton, followed by Larry Smarr and Donna Cox.  New innovations emerged from their exploration of PHSColograms, and were produced through a collaborative methodology called Renaissance Teams, a term coined by Donna J. Cox, in which artists became producers and directors of these initiatives.

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1990s : visualizing the invisible

“Scientists are the Rockstars of the Future.” 

–Ellen Sandor

As more scientists began commissioning PHSColograms to show their research, Ellen Sandor was successful in having them shown as works of art by Hudson at Feature Inc. and other museum venues, including the ICI’s traveling exhibition, From Media to Metaphor: Art About AIDS, Art Futura ’91 and the Science in Depth Traveling show, sponsored by the ACM.  Collaborations with the late great Chicago Imagist, Ed Paschke, Miroslaw Rogala and Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation began alongside important commissions for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the National Institutes of Health.  

 

The potential of PHSColograms for medical applications was also explored with Picker International and 3M to create EpiView, a real-time app (before the term was invented) in which physicians could print PHSColograms as 3D X-Rays to prevent invasive procedures and was used in hospitals.  A similar app was created to print iGrams, real-time PHSColograms from EVL’s VR CAVE.  Commercial projects included pieces for Nintendo of America and other video game companies as well.  (art)n’s website was launched in 1993 while at IIT, and won many awards after moving to Northwestern University’s research park in ‘94 and later, above the School of the Art Institute’s Gallery 2 location in Greek Town.  

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2000s : ARTISTS AS STAKEHOLDERS

"Art saves. Tough art and science really saves.”

–Ellen Sandor

In the early 2000s, (art)h was commissioned  by the City of Chicago to honor WWII Veterans who bravely fought during the Battle of Midway.  The Memorial is presently installed at Midway Airport and was based on oral histories from WWII veterans who recalled their personal reflections and shared their experiences. PHSCologram murals depicted the battle as the turning point of WWII, based on vital code-breaking intelligence solved by a covert team of service men guided–by a female intelligence officer and hidden figure–Agnes Driscoll.   After developing iGrams to print PHSColograms from the VR CAVE, (art)n co-producd a VR piece, Special Treatment, that takes viewers inside of a barracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Additionally (art)n collaborated with Martyl, the designer of the Doomsday Clock who gave Ellen Sandor and (art)n their first show at Fermilab in 1987, to create a PHSCologram of the clock, juxtaposed with Martyl’s Tent Rocks painting.  While the clock was created in the aftermath of WWII for warnings of nuclear war, beyond 2000, the clock has been moved for climate change, terrorism and potential misuse of developing technologies.  

Scientific breakthroughs were also percolating at (art)n with the creation of an interactive sculpture, Telomeres Project on Imminent Immortality, which was based on the underground research of scientists who were exploring the potential of telomerase to prevent aging and life-threatening diseases.  A trio of scientists, including two women, later shared the Nobel Prize for their discoveries of telomeres.  The sculpture debuted at SIGGRAPH '01 in Los Angeles and was included in a traveling exhibition that celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the discovery of DNA.  (art)n also continued working with medical scientists to create PET Study PHSColograms that were shown at the International Center of Photography’s How Human: Life in the Post-Genome Era exhibition.  Additional artworks produced include a commissioned virtual sculpture, Universal Atmospheres for NCSA's new building plus PHSColograms of historic landmarks, groundbreaking works of architecture and an homage to the late great Chicago Imagist, Roger Brown.  

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2010s : herstory & beyond

"What I know for sure is . . .
Cooperation and collaboration rock even more than competition. Partnerships within relationships are mutually inspiring. Family makes it all worthwhile."

–Ellen Sandor

In the early 2010s, explorations of architectural landmarks and experimental works continued with PHSColograms and VR pieces in the Starchitects Revisited series.  Additional PHSCologram sculptures were made of Nouvelle Nouveau–an homage to Piet Mondrian and The Garden of Digital Delights, inspired by Nam June Park's Garden of Earthly Delights, with embellished painterly PHSCologram details of photographs by Man Ray, Imogen Cunningham, Robert Mapplethorpe and Charles Csuri.  Selected pieces were shown at Galeria Arteconsult, Panama, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, and the National Arts Club, Gramercy Park, NYC. In 2014, Ellen Sandor received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received an MFA in Sculpture.  In 2016, she was awarded Fermilab's Artist in Residency for (art)n to collaborate with Fermi scientists on PHSColograms, VR and Projection Mappings of their neutrinos research.  From this unique collaboration, a rich tableau of new media artworks that create 'art meets science' relationships with Jackson Pollock, David Smith and Victor Vasarely were shown at the Fermilab Gallery in Batavia. After (art)n's Fermilab exhibition, (art)n created a PHSCologram sculpture and VR experience of the Doomsday Clock in memory of the late great Martyl.  

We are on the cusp of many life changing advances in the neurosciences.  What are the secret keys to human life? What does it mean to be a human being living in today’s technologically advancing world? What roles do artists play in co-creating our future?  How can art, when intermingled with science, shape and evolve our destiny to create a better life for future generations?

 

Fearless was in. Ellen Sandor, being inspired by her grandson, Caleb Sandor Taub, who is a non-verbal autistic young man, was able to communicate with her for the first time, while in his late teens using the RPM method with emotional depth and intelligence.  Cal encouraged his grandmother to create PHSCologram sculptures and VR that explore mRNA gene editing possibilities with CRISPR to solve life threatening diseases and conditions like autism. A trio of works, two sculptures and VR were produced in collaboration with Nobel award winning scientist, Jennifer Doudna and her team at Doudna Lab, University of California Berkeley.  Another trio of PHSColograms and VR explore microglia and pruning the synapses with Beth Stevens and her team at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard University.  Additional sculptures and VR explore the BRACA Gene and Thoughts about Choice, shown at the Jean Albano Gallery.  New Media Futures was also published during the University of Illinois Press Centennial, documenting the oral herstory interviews of 22 trailblazing book contributors. Some of their groundbreaking collaborations propelled the digital revolution, making the Internet and social media possible, that provided continuity for the workspace, education and personal connections–all vital to our society during the pandemic and beyond. 

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Mid-2020s : beyond The visible

“Give me the outsider—period. . .
I honestly believe all innovation happens with people who think differently, outside the box, from the tech revolution to scientists.“ 

–Ellen Sandor in White Hot Magazine

In 2022, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Doomsday Clock, created by Martyl, and published a unique tribute edited by Robert K. Elder that included (art)n's PHSColograms + VR experiences.  In 2025, the  Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of New Media Art featured an article by Donna Cox, that highlights  New Media Futures co-editors, contributors and book references. 

Select exhibition highlights include:

Brain + Love +, iLon Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, April 28 – June 25, 2022

Patric Prince: Digital Art Visionary, V&A South Kensington, UK, September 1, 2023- September 15, 2024

35 Years: 35 Artists, Jean Albano Gallery Chicago, IL, November 10- December 31, 2023

Beyond the Visible, Schingoethe Center, Aurora University, January 29-May 10, 2024

GLOW: Illuminating Innovation, King's College, London, March 8-April 20, 2024

Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography and Film, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA , November 24, 2024-July 13, 2025
 

Self , Made, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, June 27-November 9, 2026 

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PHSColograms and VR projects were recently acquired by the Shingoethe Center, Victoria & Albert Museum, John Michael Kohler Art Center and the Art Institute of Chicago for their permanent collections. (art)n's preservation efforts of PHSColograms/sculptures + VR projects with museums and private collectors continues for the future.  

We are living amidst many life changing advances in science and technology that are impacting our lives in unimaginable ways from the tangible to the ephemeral. It is important to remember though, it is not science and technology that create our future per se - it is on us:  how we relate to each other, engage with each other, and play together (or not), that shapes and creates our world and makes us human.

 

What does it truly mean to be an evolved human being living consciously in today’s world?  What roles do artists play in co-creating our future together?  How can art, when intermingled with science and other fields shape and evolve our destiny to co-create a better humanity that is more humane, compassionate, and sustainable?  These and other questions are worth considering that (art)n has reflected on throughout its oeuvre and trajectory featured in this timeline.  Please enjoy!

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© 2022  (art)n

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