Willow

Department Affiliations

* Art
* Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
* Electrical and Computer Engineering

Artist Statement:

Diane is a multi-modal artist. Working at the nexus of art and technology, science and culture, she experiments with hybrid media to explore the dynamics of nature, technology and culture. She invites people to engage in multi-sensory explorations as participants and choreographers rather than as viewers. She is particularly interested in empathy, in the ways that we develop and transform our sense of place, and how these processes are influenced by our contemporary views of nature, technology and community. Her public installations, interactive environments and evocative objects involve media as eclectic as bioluminescent plankton, embedded computers, kinetic projection screens, found sound, and time-lapsed video

Currently an Assistant Professor working with new media and new genres within the Department of Art, Diane’s appointment to the faculty of the University of Minnesota follows a multi-year appointment as artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab.

Specialties

* poetic interplay of nature, technology and community
* creative inquiry and artistic expression with new media
* interactive, socially engaged, contemplative environments
* playful explorations :: new modes, new materials, new media

* sound art
* public art
* interactive art
* participatory media
* experimental video
* responsive environments
* community collaboration

Creative Activities

* co~presence: Joy Art Gallery, 798 Art Disctrict, Beijing, China,
-solo exhibition - interactive site-specific, kinesthetic sound
installation. November 1 – December 31, 2008.

* Air into Water : New Media Art Triennial, experimental video,
Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China, November 2 – 14, 2008

* sonic leaves: Bakken Museum, July 8, 2008, Minneapolis, MN

* Light Sensitive: Subtle Technologies Festival / Pixel Gallery,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 29 – June 15, 2008

* SEAt to SEA: Spark Festival, UMN, interactive, kinetic sound
sculpture, installation February 26 – March 27, 2008

* Re-Inhabiting: Danforth Museum of Art - solo exhibition –
an interactive, contemplative, site-specific installation,
December 19, 2007 - April 27, 2008

* culturing nature :: culturing technology: curator: exhibition at
UMN Nash Gallery, February 26, 2008 - March 27, 2008

* Present Moment Project a series of contemplative,
stress-reducing installations, interactive spaces and
responsive objects.
September 2007 - September 2008, Nolte Center, UMN
September 2008 – December 2008, Rapson Hall, UMN
January 2009 – May 2009, Regis Center for Art

* Wonder Women :: Art & Technology: catalyst and convener –
hybrid Symposium (phase one) at UMN, March 12, 2008 –
March 14, 2008 including a panel with Walker Art Center

* Domestic Vitrines: 36 Hour solo Installation, Science Museum of
Minnesota, March 2006

* ReFresh ::Gateways: Interactive Installation / Okawa Center,
Keihanna, Japan, November – December, 2005

* Eyes of the Wind: Interactive Installation, Minnesota Museum
of American Art, 2005

* Leave-ings III: Interactive Installation, Nash Gallery, U of MN, 2004
* Exhibition: Sound Garden. MindFest, Ft. Worth Museum of Science
and History: 2003

* Whispering Touch: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Museum: 2003

Professional Activities

* Forecast Public Art: Board of Directors

* Subtle Technologies Symposium: lecture: Light Sensitive Series,
University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 30, 2008.

* Wonder Women :: Art & Technology: catalyst and convener for this
hybrid symposium (phase one) which included artist talks and panels
at UMN and the Walker Art Center, Studio Action Workshops at UMN
and the concurrent exhibition in the Nash Gallery, culturing nature ::
culturing technology, March 12, 2008 - March 14, 2008

* Five on Five: Five Perspectives on the Interplay of Research,
Innovation, Experimentation, Pedagogy and Practice, College
Art Association Conference Panel Convener and Chair as part of Art
Interactive's New Media/New Work, Cambridge, MA,
February 23, 2006

* College Art Association / Committee on Diversity Practice:
committee member contributing to a Bibliography for a Culturally
Inclusive Art History, 2005 – 2007

* dorkbotmsp – Catalyst for the msp affliate of dorkbot.org, where "People doing
strange things with electriciy" convener of an emerging community of artists,
composers, bricolers, who get together to share their pieces/projects that use
technology in interesting ways. 2006 – present

* University of Minnesota Research Collaboratives:
HumanNonHuman Research Group
Science, Nature, Culture collaborative
Space and Place collaborative

Awards

* Ambient Sites - Grant in Aid of Research, Artistry and
Scholarship award, January 2009 - June 2010

* Body Electric – Consortium for the Studies of Asias Curriculum
Development and Building Intellectual Strength Grant, Fall 2009

* Present Moment Project - an IAS / University Symposium
Award for Research and Creative Projects: In collaboration with
Rebecca Krinke, Landscape Architecture and Henry Emmons,
MD, Center for Spirituality and Healing.
September 2007 - December 2008

* Osher Fellowship - invitational fellowship at San Francisco's
Exploratorium, 2007

* Light Sensitive -Grant in Aid of Research, Artistry and
Scholarship award, January 2006 - June 2007

* McKnight Summer Fellowship, June 2006 - August 2006
* Faculty Summer Research fellowship, June 2006 – August 2006

Recent Publications

* Mud, an essay in Sherry Turkle’s Falling for Science : Objects in Mind,
MIT Press, May 2008
* Ideas that Technology Can Reveal, an essay for The Exhibitionist, the journal
of the National Association for Museum Exhibition. Spring 2008

Courses Taught

* ARTS 3601/5610 - New Media ::
Making Art Interactive
* ARTS 3605/5650 - Sound Art
* ARTS 3606/5660 - Body Electric
* ARTS 5490 - Artistic Experiments in Time & Interactivity
* ARTS 5990 – Independent Study and eStudio
* ARTS 5444 - Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition
* ARTS 8600 - Time & Interactivity: Theory and Practice
* ARTS 8990 – M.F.A. Creatie Thesis
* ARTS 1905 - Art in the Mix and the Making
* ARTS 1905 - Transgenic Art with Neil Olszewski, Plant Biology
* EE 4951 – Senior Design Project – co-faculty advisor
* HSEM 3050H - Wonder Women: Art & Technology 1968 -2008

Posted by Diane Willow at 3:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diane Willow
Assistant Professor, Department of Art, CLA, University of Minnesota

Education

M.S.V.S. Visual Studies, Center for Advanced Visual Studies, MIT, 1992

Academic Experience

2004 – present Assistant Professor, Time and Interactivity Area,
Department of Art, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
2007 – present Affiliate Faculty Appointment, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Department of Gender, Women, Sexuality Studies
2008 – present Appointment as Artist in Residence, Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering (ECE), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
2004 – 1999 Artist and Research Affiliate, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA
2003 – 1999 Artist in Residence, Institute-wide Appointment, MIT, Cambridge, MA
1993 – 2000 Adjunct Faculty, Wheelock College, Boston, MA

SCHOLARSHIP /CREATIVE ACTIVITY
Includes exhibitions, curatorial projects, essays and publications that I have authored/edit

EXHIBITIONS

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

2008 co~presence, Joy Art Gallery/Hy Space, 798 Art District, Beijing, China, [solo]
(Nov 1 – Dec 31, 2008).
2008 sonic leaves, Bakken Museum, Minneapolis, MN (July 8, 2008) [solo]
2008 Present Moment Project: reimagined, Rapson Hall, UMN, (August – December, 2008)
2008 Light Sensitive, Subtle Technologies Festival, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (May 29 – June 19, 2008)
2008- Re-Inhabiting, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, [solo]
2007 (December 19, 2007 – April 27, 2008)
2007 The Present Moment Project [Iteration I, II, III], in collaboration with Rebecca Krinke and
Henry Emmons, Nolte Center, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota,
(November 2007 – August 2008)
2006 Domestic Vitrines :: 36 Hours, Science Museum of Minnesota, (March 2006) [solo]
2005 ReFresh :: Gateways, Okawa Center, Keihanna, Japan, (Nov – Dec 2005) [solo commission]
2003 Whispering Touch, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA (May – September 2003) [solo]
2002 Dream Tree, Okawa Center, Keihanna, Japan, (March – December 2005) [solo commission]
2002 BioLuminaria, Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, ME, (July 2002) [solo]
2000 SEAt, MIT, Lobby10, Cambridge, MA (April – May 2002) [solo]
2000 SEAt, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA (May – October 2000) [solo]
1999 Arbor for a Cube, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA (October 1999 – present) [solo]
1998 Circling Sound, Artist Foundation Gallery, Boston, MA (April-May 1998) [solo]

Group Exhibitions

2008 Air into Water, New Media Triennial, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China (Nov 2-14, 2008)
2008 SEAt to SEA, Spark Festival, Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
(February 2008)
2007 Re-Flow, Bamboo Festival, Anji, China, in collaboration with the Beijing Film Academy,
(October 2007)
2007 Still Motion :: Turbulent Sound, Out of the Comfort Zone, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, (September – October, 2004)
2007 Flow :: Ocean Meditations, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China (June 2006)
2005 Eyes of the Winds, Soft Touch, interact/react, Minnesota Museum of American Art,
(April – June 2005)
2004 Reflexive Membranes, Fabrication Exhibition, Cambridge Gallery,
University of Waterloo, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, (Nov-Dec 2004)
2004 Leave-ings II, Lillian Immig Gallery, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA,
(Oct-Nov 2004)
2004 Leave-ings III, Department of Art New Faculty, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, (August 31 – September 30, 2004)
2003 Sound Tree, MindFest, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA
2003 Sound Garden, MindFest, Fort Worth Museum of History and Science, Fort Worth, Texas,
(August 2003)
2002 At the Well, Wolk Gallery, MIT, Cambridge, MA (April 2002)
2002 Looking Large and Luminous Body, Interactive Check Up, Whittier and South Cove Community
Health Centers, Boston, MA (June 2002 – June 2006)
1999 Falling Water, Barbara Singer Gallery, Cambridge, MA, (Sept – Oct 1999)
1998 Whispering Wheel, Fort Point Artists gallery, Boston, MA, (Oct – Nov 1998)
1998 Let the Healing Begin, Artists Foundation & Boston Medical Center, (April 1998)
1997 Days In The Life, Shapes of Time and Tide, Mystic, CT, (April – July 1997)
1996 Days in the Life, Children’s Museum, Boston, MA (May - Permanent)

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2008 Beijing Film Academy, convener of UMN participation in the New Media Triennial (Nov 2008)
2008 Wonder Women :: Art & Technology (phase 1), Department of Art, University of Minnesota with
“Moving the Moving Image� event in collaboration with Women with Vision, Walker Art Center.
catalyst, convener, curator (March 12 – 14, 2008)
2008 culturing nature :: culturing technology, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota,
(February 26 – March 27, 2008) catalyst, curator
2002 Digital Dialogues :: Technology and the Hand, MIT Media Lab and Haystack
Mountain School, co-curator, Deer Isle, ME, (October 2002)
1998: Arts Afloat, conceived and organized by Diane Willow, co-curator with Nick Capasso,
sited in Boston Harbor, Boston Children’s Museum (October 1998 – July 1999)

JURYING

2005: ISEA 2006, IDEA Residency Jury
2005: Design Camp, Design Institute, University of Minnesota, at the invitation of Jan Abrams

PUBLICATIONS
Author of Essays and Editor of Monographs

2008: Mud, essay included in Falling for Science: Objects in Mind, edited by Sherry Turkle, MIT Press
2008: Ideas that Technology Can Reveal, The Exibitionist, NAME publication, American Association
of Museums vol 27, no 1, Spring 2008
2006: Volumes and Spaces, .DPI, Studio XX, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
2002: Handheld Reflections on Digital Dialogues, Digital Dialogues,,
Haystack Monograph Series, Deer Isle, Maine
2002: Digital Dialogues, co-editor with Stu Kestenbaum, Haystack Monograph Series, Deer Isle, Maine

VISITING ARTIST PRESENTATIONS (Lectures/Workshops/Critiques)

2008 Experimenting with Art in Public Places, panelist, Minneapolis, MN, (October 11, 2008)
2008 Subtle Technologies Symposium, lecture Light Sensitive Series, University of Toronto,
(May 30, 2008)
2008 University of Minnesota, Institute for Advanced Study, Present Moment Project, (April 22, 2008)
2008 University of Minnesota, Department of Art History, Collaboration and Art, (April 17, 2008)
2008 Pomona College, re Flow (Locate, Re-locate, Dis-locate), (April 11, 2008)
2008 Harvey Mudd College, Art, Science and Technology, (April 10, 2008)
2008 California State University, San Marcos, Technically Nature, (April 9, 2008)
2007 Exploratorium, Wonder Women::Art & Technology 1968 – 2008, (July 26, 2007)
2007 Exploratorium, Ways of Working, (July 19, 2007)
2007 Beijing Film Academy, Flux and Flow, (June 21, 2007)
2007 St. Olaf College, Tangible: Media~Material Dialogues, (April 12, 2007)
2007 Minnesota Center for Photography, Media Empathy, (February 13, 2007)
2006 Studio XX, Sounds and Spaces, 10th Anniversary, (October 6, 2006)
2006 ECE Colloquia, Art and Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Minnesota, (April 13, 2006)
2005 Emerging Digerati, Multi-Modal, Weisman Museum of Art, University of Minnesota,
(February 7, 2004)
2004 ACADIA/AAI conference, Responsive Architecture, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,
(November 13, 2004)
2003 Ludwig Foundation, La Habana, Cuba –Participation & Interaction , (November 19, 2003)
2003 Columbia University, Teachers College, NYC, NY, Visiting Artist, Lecturer (January – May, 2003)
2003 Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA, Visiting Artist, Lecturer
2003 Ball State University, Muncie, IN – Sense and Response (April 2003)
2003 Art & Technology Biennial Symposium, CT. College - Digital Dialogues: Technology and The Hand,
(February 28, 2003)
2003 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Institute National Design Museum, NYC
Interactive Drawing Machines, July 17, 2003)
2002 Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, ME – Visiting Artist in Residence,
BioLuminaria, (July 11, 2002)
2002 ASTC Annual Meeting – PIE Salon : Exploring New Digital Technologies for Playful Invention, 10/03
2002 MIT Arts Colloquium Series, MIT, Provost for the Arts – Digital Dialogues
2000 MIT Media Lab, Okawa Lecture Series, Poetics of Place, (March 2000)
1999 CyberArts Festival – Women in Technology and the Arts – Extra-Sensory, (May10, 1999)
1999 Association of Science and Technology Centers – Annual Conference
Using Our Senses With Technology , (October 1999)
1998 Keio University (at the invitation of Masaki Fujihata), Japan, Gardening the Elements in A Landscape
of Technology, (October 1998)
1998 Biwa Museum, Japan - Interactive Environments - Exploring Urban Ecologies, (October 1998)

Residencies, Appointments, Fellowships

2008 Residential Fellowship at the UMN Institute for Advanced Study, awarded for Spring 2010
2008 Osher Fellowship, Exploratorium (second phase July 10 – July 20, 2007)
2008 Artist in Residence, UMN, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
2007- Osher Fellowship, Exploratorium (first phase: July 1 – July 31, 2007, second phases
2008 January 30 – February 1, 2008 and July 10 – 20, 2008.
1999 - Institute-wide Appointment, Office for the Arts, MIT (September 1999 – August 2002)
2002
2002 Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, ME, (June/ 10 – July 13, 2002)

Recent Grants and Awards

2008 Grant in Aid (GIA), University of Minnesota, (January 2009 – June 2010)
in support of Ambient Site :: Poetic Explorations of Permeable Boundaries
2008 Consortium for the Asias Curriculum Development and Building Strength Grant (Fall 2008)
for course development/cultural context research for the Body Electric course
2007 University Symposium Grant, Present Moment Project, The Institute for
Advanced Study and the Office for the Vice President for Research, 2007-8
2007 Instructional Equipment Grant, Mobile computer Upgrades to Support Creative,
Pedagogical Modes of Studio Art Teaching and Learning, (November 20, 2007)
2007 Office for International Programs (OIP), International Travel Grant,
Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China June 16-26, 2007
2006 Osher Fellowship, Exploratorium, Invitational Fellowship, 2006 -8
2006 Office for International Programs (OIP), International Travel Grant,
Studio XX, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (October 2-6, 2006)
2006 Faculty Summer Fellowship University of Minnesota
in support of Light Sensitive, (Summer 2006)
2006 McKnight Summer Fellowship, University of Minnesota
in support of Light Sensitive, (Summer 2006)
2006 Grant in Aid (GIA), University of Minnesota, (January 2006 – June 2007)
in support of Light Sensitive
2006 InfoTech Fees Grant Improved Access to Computing Facilities for Teaching, (May 2006)
2005 Office for International Programs (OIP), International Travel Grant,
Keihanna, Kyoto, Tokyo, research and installation commission, (November -December, 2005)
2003 Daniel Langois Foundation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada in support of collaborative
project Reflexive Membranes, with Architect Philip Beesley, (2003-2004)

Professional Activities

2008 Forecast Public Art, Board of Directors, three year appointment
2005-7 College Art Association / Committee on Diversity Practices
2006 College Art Association Annual Conference and Art Interactive’s New Media/New Work
Panel Chair, Five on Five: Perspectives on the Interplay of Research, Innovation,
Experimentation, Pedagogy, and Practive, Cambridge, MA
2006 – dorkbotmsp – catalyst and convener for the msp affiliate of dorkbot.org
present

University of Minnesota Research Collaboratives:

2008 – present HumanNonHuman Research Group
2008 – present Music and Sound Studies Initiative
2008 – present Space and Place collaborative
2005 – 2007 Science, Nature, Culture Collaborative

Faculty Sponsor for Internal Awards and Grants to Students

2008-9 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), University of Minnesota,
Spring 2007, to support Jessica Tank’s work on faculty research, The Present Moment Project
2007-8 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), University of Minnesota,
to support Ben Faga’s work on faculty exhibition project Re-Inhabiting
2006 Site/Life Mapping, MCAD Gallery, MCAD & UMN Collaboration, in support of
Ben Faga’s collaborative project, Slow Motion
2005 Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP), University of Minnesota,
Summer Funds to support, One to Another, a collaborative project with Colleen Ludwig

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