Ellen R. Sandor (born 1942) is an American new media artist. She is also founder of the Chicago-based (art)ⁿ, a collective of artists, scientists, mathematicians, and computer experts. Ellen Sandor and (art)ⁿ create sculptures that contain computer-generated photographic images that appear to be three dimensional. She is best known for combining computer graphics, sculpture, and photography to visualize subject matter that includes architecture, historical events, and scientific phenomena such as the

AIDS virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the imm ...

, Neutrinos, Microglia, and CRISPR.

Education

Sandor holds a B.A. from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

(1963) and an MFA in sculpture from the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

(1975). In 2012, she received the Thomas R. Leavens Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts through Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In 2013, Ellen received the Gene Siskel Film Center Outstanding Leadership Award. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. Sandor was a visiting scholar of culture and society,

National Center for Supercomputing Applications The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is a unit of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and provides high-performance computing resources to researchers in the United States. NCSA is currently led by Professor Bill ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

and a 2016 Fermilab Artist in Residence at the

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Fermilab's Main Injector, two miles (3.3 k ...

Work

In 1983 Sandor formed an artists’ group called (art)ⁿ. They created a new art form, called PHSColograms (pronounced “skolograms”), which are 3D barrier-screen computer-generated photographs and sculptures. The term PHSColograms refers to a combination of photography, holography, sculpture and computer graphics. Some of (art)ⁿ’s best-known scientific visualizations include a rendering of the AIDS virus cell as well as visualizations of the poliovirus,

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

, and the human brain. Through her Chicago studio, (art)ⁿ, Sandor collaborates with artists and technologists to create PHSColograms commissioned by art and science institutions. Sandor's work has been commissioned by the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and the

Tech Museum of Innovation The Tech Interactive (formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation, commonly known as The Tech) is a science and technology center that offers hands-on activities, labs, design challenges and other STEAM education resources. It is located in downtown ...

, among others. Her work is held in public and private art collections including the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...

, the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, the

Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet () in Paris is dedicated to the History of Paris, history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, ...

, Paris, and the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London. Sandor and (art)ⁿ have worked with a variety of artists including

Ed Paschke Edward Francis Paschke (June 22, 1939 – November 25, 2004) was an American painter. His childhood interest in animation and cartoons, as well as his father's creativity in wood carving and construction, led him toward a career in art. As a stud ...

, Karl Wirsum,

Chris Landreth Chris Landreth (born August 4, 1961) is an American animator working in Canada, best known for his work on the 2004 film '' Ryan''. He has made many animated films since the mid-1990s, including ''The End'', '' Bingo'', ''The Listener'', ''Caustic ...

, Martyl Langsdorf,

Donna Cox Donna J. Cox is an American artist and scientist, Michael Aiken Endowed Chair; Professor of Art + Design; Director, Advanced Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); Director, Visualization and Experimental Techn ...

Miroslaw Rogala Mirosław Rogala is a Polish-born American video artist and interactive artist. He has worked in the areas of interactive art, video installation and live performance, post-photographic transformation, and musical composition. Education * 197 ...

and Claudia Hart. In addition, she and (art)ⁿ have worked with scientists at the

Scripps Research Institute Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, and the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Sandor was honored by the

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

for her longstanding commitment to integrating art and science in 2017. She is co-editor and contributor to ''New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts'' (2018) published by the University of Illinois Press.

Patents

Sandor is the co-holder of five U.S. patents, three for autostereography techniques and two for polymerization of lenticular images.

Collecting and Philanthropy

Sandor and her husband, economist Richard L. Sandor, have assembled a private art collection with over 1,800 objects dating from the 1840s to the present. In 1988, 2001, and 2002 the Sandors were listed by

Art & Antiques ''Art & Antiques'' is an American arts magazine. History 1984 launch ''Art & Antiques'' launched its premier issue in March 1984. While the magazine disclaimed any connection to a previous publication of the same name, the company had in fact ...

magazine as one of America's top 100 private collectors. The Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Collection contains photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and new media works focusing around themes such as 19th- and 20th-century icons, Paris between the wars, the American West, Hollywood portraits, and

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

. Ellen Sandor served on the board of governors for the

from 2003 until 2024 and is a lifetime trustee of

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

. She also served as chair of the Gene Siskel Film Center, 2003 until 2024. Ellen is a board member of

Eyebeam Art and Technology Center Eyebeam is a not-for-profit art and technology center in New York City, founded by John Seward Johnson III with co-founders David S. Johnson and Roderic R. Richardson. Originally conceived as a digital effects and coding atelier and center for ...

in New York. She is also a member of the American Friends Musée d’Orsay et de L'Orangerie as well as on the board of the Fred Jones Museum of Art–The University of Oklahoma;

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Florida State Uni ...

; and

Asolo Repertory Theatre The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep (AKA: Asolo Theatre Company, Inc.) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo ...

Notes

External links

(art)ⁿ
American digital artists Brooklyn College alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni 1942 births Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandor, Ellen American women digital artists