The Zhou B Ar t Center - Artist Ellen Sandor explores structures in a virtual 3D realm

Stepping into Chicago artist Ellen Sandor’s darkened West Loop studio is like walking into a magical “other world.” Dozens of 3D photographs cover almost every inch of wall space. And crisp, colorful images appear to blast from them. Each striking picture – from a beautiful kaleidoscope-like close up of the AI Ds virus to a carnival-esque selfportrait of the late artist, Ed Paschke – makes a visitor simply want to say, “Wow.”

And that’s precisely the response, Sandor, 68, and her team of artists/computer specialists at art(n) want to evoke. Since 1983, Sandor and company have been creating what they call PH SColograms (pronounced skol-o-grams). Briefly explained, a PH SCologram -- an acronym for photography, holography, sculpture and computer graphics – is created when multiple computer renderings of an image are interwoven to form a single photograph of that image. The resulting blurred picture is then laminated on a special screen and backlit. This process enables the viewer
to clearly see the photo as a 3D sculptural piece. Sandor’s works – which generally take about 30 to 90 days to create -- primarily explore three distinct disciplines – science, art and, most recently, architecture. Last fall, Sandor’s architecture-themed works were presented in a well-received show, Concepts of Construction, at Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center. i4design recently
met with the energetic artist to discuss her work and her fascination with architecture.

i4: What led you to work in multidimensional imagery?

ES: I graduated from the School of the Art Institute in 1975 with an MFA. I sculpted and worked with erotic neon. Then, [In the early ‘80s] I was commissioned to do a large 3D postcard about the United States financial markets. I wanted to do something that wasn’t kitschy, but fell into the high art realm. It had to have the “wow factor” you experienced as a kid looking at a 3D post card. But it also needed to be sophisticated. We had to invent a process to produce this. In 1983 everything was analog. I would build a set and take photos with a pinhole camera. Today everything is done on the computer.

i4: How did architecture become one of your preferred subjects?

ES: I arrived in Chicago in 1972 and one of the first things I wanted to see was Mies’ Farnsworth House. I went out, saw it and fell in love with it. It was always in the back of my mind. I put it on the back burner. Then, in 1994, we did the “Gaudi piece.” [With Philippe Paul Froesch, Sandor and art(n) created First Illusion About Antonio G. in New York, which actualized one of the famed Spanish architect’s illusory drawings for a structure that was never built – Gaudi’s version of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel.] But it wasn’t until around 2008 when things exploded and we started focusing almost exclusively on architectural images. We did a piece for Helmut Jahn, which was commissioned by one of his friends [Structural Spectrums, 2008]. And then I said “Let’s just get in there and be inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House [Reconstructing the Wright Space, 2009] and the Farnsworth House [Mies-en-scene: The Farnsworth House, 2009].” We have been revitalized working with architecture. It has been thrilling.

i4: Explain your approach to interpreting architecture.

ES: We do two things. First, we are inspired by iconic architects. We create structures which they designed, but were never built, such as Bruce Goff’s Crystal Chapel [Perfect Prisms: Crystal Chapel, 2009] and Wright’s [The Mile High] skyscraper [Vertical Mile, 2009]. And we also recreate existing iconic structures and deconstruct them.

i4: Indeed, there are concrete columns tumbling off the Robie House and glass panels hanging in mid-air from the Farnsworth House in your PHSColograms. Why do you opt to deconstruct these famous structures?

ES: Similar to [the hit 3D movie] Avatar, I want that magical “Wow.” It’s historical preservation with a twist and an edge. We recreate for historical purposes. We deconstruct for artistic purposes.

i4: What architectural projects are you working on currently?

SG: We are working on a historical preservation project -- the Frey House, a minimalist-modern
home built in the 1940s by Albert Frey. I visited Palm Springs and I was floored. I was disappointed that so much of it has been changed.

i4: And what buildings can we expect to see you envisioning or preserving in the future?

ES: I’ve been inspired to do some more Gaudi pieces, which I will be showing in Panama later this year.

Zhou B Art Center is located at 1029 West 35th Street, Chicago.
For more information please visit www.zbcenter.org

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