Andrea Polli : Sonic Antarctica

 

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Andrea Polli is a digital media artist living in New Mexico. Her work addresses issues related to science and technology in contemporary society. She is interested in global systems, the real-time interconnectivity of these systems, and the effect of these systems on individuals. Polli's work with science, technology, and media has been presented widely in over 100 presentations, exhibitions, and performances internationally and has been recognized by numerous grants, residencies, and awards including UNESCO. Her work has been reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Art in America, Art News, NY Arts, and others. She has published two book chapters, several audio CDs, DVDs, and academic papers.

She currently works in collaboration with atmospheric scientists to develop systems for understanding storm and climate through sound (called sonification). Recent projects include a spatialized sonification of highly detailed models of storms that devastated the New York area, a series of sonifications of climate in Central Park, and a real-time multi-channel sonification and visualization of weather in the Arctic. She has exhibited, performed, and lectured nationally and internationally and recently spent seven weeks in Antarctica on a National Science Foundation-funded project, which is documented at 90DegreesSouth.org, and is the basis for this ARTerrain Gallery.

As a member of the steering committee for New York 2050, a wide-reaching project envisioning the future of the New York City region, she worked with city planners, environmental scientists, historians and other experts to look at the impact of climate on the future of human life both locally and globally.

She received an MFA in Time Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 2000 she was voted Teacher of the Year at Columbia College in Chicago in recognition of her work connecting students to the wider community through collaborative projects. These projects included performances and exhibitions at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and a large-scale public art project connecting five neighborhood arts organizations with live web streaming, an exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, and six billboards.

Polli is currently an Associate Professor in Fine Arts and Engineering at the University of New Mexico and Mesa Del Sol Endowed Chair of Digital Media at UNM. She served as the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media Program and as director of ARTS Lab at the university from 2009-2010. From 2005-2008 she served as the director of the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program at Hunter College/CUNY. From 2006-2009 she was co-chair of the Leonardo Education Forum, an affiliate of the MIT Press and the College Art Association of America that promotes the advancement of research and academic scholarship at the intersections of art, science, and technology and from 2004-2008 she was co-chair of the New York Society for Acoustic Ecology, a multidisciplinary group exploring the urban sound environment and a chapter of the American and World Forums for Acoustic Ecology, for which she now serves as vice-president.

For more information about Andrea Polli, visit www.AndreaPolli.com.

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