Ian Pollock Faculty Profile

Ian  Pollock

Associate Professor of Art, Coordinator, M.A. Interaction Design and Interactive Art, Coordinator, Undergraduate Interaction and Game Design Option

Department of Art

Ian Pollock holds a Master of Fine Art degree in New Media Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Fine Art in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has worked as an educator in fine and applied media art in the United States, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Professor of Art and the Director of the Graduate Program for Interaction Design and Interactive Art at California State University, East Bay.

Prior to his career in education, Pollock worked in television, launching the San Francisco Government Access Channel Citywatch, as well as in advertising and on the web. He was also a curator for the Southern Exposure Gallery in the 1990s and served as curator and director for Secession Gallery in San Francisco, a project gallery without walls.

Ian Pollock's creative work with communications technologies, the web, and telephones in public spaces has been featured in several anthologies of digital media art. He is a Digital Media Artist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as online. His recent projects continue to explore the politics of public space, including the activist street project GuerrillaGrafters, which involves grafting fruiting branches onto sterile city street trees, and the online project BiasMap, which crowd-maps prejudice.

In addition to his creative work, Pollock is involved in transdisciplinary research and collaborations, including game jams, hackathons, playable media, neuroscience, computer science, and afro-futurism, across traditional academic boundaries. He reviews academic and scholarly articles for the Leonardo Journal and for SIGSCE and ITICSCE conferences.

Professor Pollock's creative and professional focus lies in transdisciplinary New Media art, interaction design for social justice and sustainability, creative use of public space, and collaboration in game jams, hackathons, playable media, neuroscience, computer science, and foresight and afro-futurism, as well as social capacity and social capital building.

 

New media art, collaborations in fine art & design, new media journalism, social capacity, and social capital building

Education Research Projects

Principal Investigator
BRAIN JAM AFTER-SCHOOL PILOT PROGRAM

HUSD, YEP and Hayward Promise Neighborhood, Hayward, CA

Pilot project for an after-school program that combines neuroscience education and game making taught by CSUEB graduate students in underserved Hayward high schools.  

2015

Principal Investigator
CSUEB GAME JAM

California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA

Planned, organized, fundraised and led a student-run a 54-hour game creation event.  The research focused on discovering best practices to teach multimedia in a multi-disciplinary and team-based approach.  Successful prototype event in academic year 13/14 developed into a series of three events in academic year 14/15.  Research is expanding to include STEAM/STEAM research.

2014 - present

Principal Investigator
International Study Trip Pilot Program

Higher Colleges of Technology,
Sharjah Women’s College

United Arab Emirates

Planned, organized, fundraised and led international study trip pilot programs to Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, Egypt (2005) and Istanbul and Bursa, Turkey (2006); trips are now common practice across the nine-campus system: http://news.hct.ac.ae/student-life/international-experience

2005 - 2006

Principal Investigator
Soliya Connect Project

Higher Colleges of Technology

Sharjah Women’s College

United Arab Emirates

Established meetings between Connect Program Executives, students, faculty and administrators to explore the implementation of the Connect Program in the Higher Colleges System

2006

Cairo Project Director,
Soliya Pilot Connect Project

American University in Cairo

Cairo, Egypt

Successfully connected students from six universities including Harvard University, American University in Cairo and American University in Beirut via the Internet in discussion and collaborations:

http://www.soliya.net/?q=what_we_do_connect_results

2003

Fund Raising Contact
Afghan Education Project

Mazar-Sharif, Afghanistan
Served as west-coast fundraising contact in the successful rehabilitation of a university library in Mazar-Sharif, Afghanistan and the construction of a contemporary primary school

2002

  • MFA, University of California, Berkeley
  • BFA, San Francisco Art Institute
Spring Semester 2024
Course #SecCourse TitleDaysFromToLocationCampus
ART 44001ForumW7:30PM10:00PMWEB-SYNCHOnline Campus
MM 60201Project and Story DevelopmentM7:30PM10:00PMAE-1227Hayward Campus
MM 64001ForumW7:30PM10:00PMWEB-SYNCHHayward Campus
MM 69001Independent StudyARRWEB-ASYNCHOnline Campus
MM 69302Interaction Design ProjectARRWEB-ASYNCHHayward Campus
MM 69801InternshipARRWEB-ASYNCHOnline Campus

Exhibitions
Exhibitions

Guerrilla Grafters

«WILD», SAFI Maison & Objet furniture and design fair. Paris, France. 

2016

Prototype One

Faculty Exhibition, California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA

2014

Guerrilla Grafters

Spontaneous Interventions, Governors Island, New York, NY

Spontaneous Interventions, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL

Spontaneous Interventions, Venice International Biennale for Architecture, Venice, Italy

Open Studios, San Francisco, CA

Faculty Exhibition, California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA

2014

2013

2012


2012

2012

The Lives of Women

Curator and Participant in photo documentary exchange

Higher Colleges of Technology, Sharjah Women’s College, United Arab Emirates and AINA, Kabul, Afghanistan

2006

Photography works

Faculty Exhibitions, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Faculty Exhibitions, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

2005

2004

URValue.com

Sesnon Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

2003

Detroit - I Feel Good

SoMarts South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

2002

Roll Call

SoMarts South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

2001

The Shock

Seismic Girl Re-Mix CD, Christchurch, New Zealand

2000

Departure Lounge

San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1999

Dead Air

Corporeal Sky, The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand

1999

Phantom Line

Sinusoidal, San Francisco State University Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1999

Among the Missing

Offering Light to the Shadow, New College, San Francisco, CA

1998

Phantom Line

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA

1998

1998

Garden of Eternal Time

Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA

1998

Phreak Boxez

The Box Show, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA

1998

Garden of Eternal Time

2nd Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1998

Among the Missing

Labyrinth of the Dead, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

1997

Ballad of Expansion

Operation Calm, Venue 9, San Francisco, CA

1997

Transcendental Yellow Rose

Soft, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley, CA

1997

Bouquet (online)

Fahrenheit 451, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1997

Museum of the Future

Earart, 1078 Gallery, Chico, CA

1997

Bouquet & Zip Gun

Gun as Image, Museum of Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL

1997

Local 411

Yerba Buena Redevelopment Zone, San Francisco, CA

1997

50 Stars

Bridges, Annual Artists Committee Exhibition, Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1996

Ballad of Expansion

Inter-Galactic. 4 Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1996

Discards

Secession Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1996

Museum of the Future

SoundCulture, International Sound Festival, San Francisco, CA

1996

The Morgue

New College, San Francisco, CA

1995

At the Gate

Exploration City Site, Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1995

Two Stories

Bay Area Awards, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA

1995

Variety is the Spice of Life

Artists Respond to Prop 187, New College, San Francisco, CA

1995

Bouquet & Zip Gun

Arrested Images, Gallery 400, Chicago, IL

1995

0 seconds, 12 minutes, 2 hours, 20 days

Latent August, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA

1995

Variety is the Spice of Life

Artists Respond to Prop 187, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, San Jose, CA

1995

RAW

Rice, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA

1995

Dead Air

Rooms for the Dead V, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

1994

Area Code

Summer Sound Lab, The Lab, San Francisco, CA

1994

Commodities

Commodities, Secession, Haynes Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1994

Cartesian Luminaire

Artist Television Access Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1993

Throne

Corazon del Barrio, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

1993

Sail Cats

1807 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA

1993

Zip Gun

Object Show, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

1993

The Song of the Shirt

One of a Kind, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

1993

Bouquet

Rooms for the Dead, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

1992

365°

The Lab, San Francisco, CA

1992

Eat the Louvre

Anti-Matter Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1992


Publications
Publications

Guerrilla Grafters, Margaretha Haughwout, Tara Hui and Ian Pollock

ISEA 2015 Proceedings

Extended Abstract (2p) with Poster Presentation

2015

Biasmap - A Spatial Epidemiology of Hate

AMOS | Aus guten Gründen seit 1968

2013 Issue 2

2013

Laughter - Every Joke Is A Tiny Revolution

AMOS | Aus guten Gründen seit 1968

2013 Issue 1

2013

Occupy Possibilities – Reflections On Occupy, Art And Activism

AMOS | Aus guten Gründen seit 1968

2012 Issue 3

2012

Educating the Third Mind

Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism vol 27, No. 3, November/December

1999

Local 411:
Intimate Conversations in Private Space

Leonardo Journal vol 31:4,

Leonardo On-Line (ISAST) online

1998

Intimacy, Concept, Interaction: Artistic Potential of Voice Mail and the Telephone

Public Culture, Duke University Press, 26/1998

1998

Presentations

Guerrilla Grafters, Poster Session

ISEA 2015 – DISRUPTION

Poster Session
International Symposium for Electronic Art

Simon Fraser University, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia

2015

Game Jam—Teaching STEAM Across Disciplines

HI-TEC, National conference on advanced technological education
Portland, OR

2015

Guerrilla Grafters

TEDxSanJoseStateUniversity,
San Jose State University

2014

Issues in Contemporary Web Design and Activist Art Practice

Lebanese International University,

Sidon, Lebanon

2012

Guerrilla Grafting

Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz

2011

Islamic Art and Spirituality

Gunn High School

2008

Garden of Eternal Time - Art and Spirit

John F. Kennedy University

1998

Area Code – Telephone Art

ISEA International Symposium on Electronic Art, Rotterdam, NL

1996

Grants & Awards

Brain Jam, Afterschool Pilot Project

Wells Fargo Foundation Grant

2015

Excellence in Teaching Award

Honorable Mention, University of California, Santa Cruz

2003

NATOA
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors

Promotional Video Campaign First Place: Election 2000 Promo
Video Text Bulletin Board First Place: Citywatch Bulletin Board

2001

Eisner Prize for Excellence in the Arts - New Genres

University of California at Berkeley Eisner Prize for Excellence in the Arts 

1998

New Genres Interdisciplinary Project Grant

National Endowment for the Arts/Andy Warhol Foundation Regional Initiative Artists

1996

Project Grant 

New Langton Bay Area Awards, San Francisco

1995

Brain Jam After School Program HUSD & Eden Youth & Family Center

Funded by a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, Students learn how the brain and nervous system works, and incorporate game play and game design into high impact learning.  The two main goals of the program are to prepare for and compete in the annual Brain Bee (like a spelling bee but questions about the nervous system), and to learn how to develop fun and functional games (computer, board, card, or group activity).  Students benefit by learning some advanced biology and knowing how the nervous system affects memory and controls the body, and the winner of the Brain Bee goes to Maryland to computer in the National Brain Bee. Students present their Games at a presentation on the CSUEB campus.

In The Press
Game Jam Related

CSUEB hosts quarterly game creating contest

Sandoval, Paz, The Pioneer, December 2, 2015

2015

Welcome to the Jam: The Making of Super Street Harassment RPG

Mackey, Bob, US Gamer, June 6, 2015

2015

Unleashing Game Boys and Girls

Barylick, Chris , East Bay Monthly, July 2014

2014

Guerrilla Grafters Related

Guerrilla Grafters

Cahier d'Inspirations/ Book of Inspirations" and video
Maison & Objet ( SAFI )

2016

Guerrilla Grafters are Transforming Ornamental Trees in San Francisco Into Fruit-Bearing Trees

Goyal, N. industrytap.com September 30

2015

Grafting Fruit Tree Branches On City Trees Will Grow Free Apples, Pears.

Staff, goodnewsnetwork.org, October 27

2015

Guerrilla grafters secretly graft fruit-bearing branches onto San Francisco trees.

Staff, 2015 revolutionnow.us, September 18

2015

Guerrilla Grafters: San Francisco Trees Receive Secret Treatment

Staff, Expanded Consciousness. October 4

2015

Guerrilla Grafting: Public Trees Spliced to Bear Edible Fruit.

Staff. weburbanist.com, October 22

2015

San Francisco Guerilla Grafters.

Husky, S. ressource0.com

2015

Guerrilla Grafters: A Refreshing Conflict.

Muhlberg, H. fishandbicycles.com, October 5

2015

Sermon, "Fruitful: Have We Fruit?," Luke 13:6-9

Quick, E. bethquick.blogspot.com, September 20

2015

DIY Urbanism: Property and Process in Grassroots City Building

Pagano, C. B. Marquette Law Review97.

2014

Visioning a sustainable energy future: The case of urban food-growing.

Biel, R. Theory, Culture & Society, 0263276414536624.

2014

The Present Situation: Resistance, Activist Mapping

Gray, E. Chapter 3 : The Present Situation: Resistance, Activist Mapping. In Resilient community in an era of abandon. Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia.

2013

Ground Floor:  Guerilla Grafters.

Davis, D.  3storymagazine.com, August 29

2013

Greedy Gardeners

Anzelone, M. (2013, June 14). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/opinion/greedy-gardeners.html

2013

Verboden fruit en Lente in de Wa

De Groot, C. degroenevinger.net, March 8

2013

Guerrilla Gardeners Unplugged

Simon, Terrie. Urban Dirt, March. 2013

2013

Come Here And Take A Lesson From The Lovely Lemon Tree

Feldstein, L. (2012, October 11). planetizen.com

2012

Guerrilla Grafters

Staff, Out of Place. Radio Netherlands Worldwide. March

2012

Guerrilla Grafters Secretly Graft Fruit-Bearing Branches onto San Francisco Tree

Boyer, Mark.  Inhabitat  - Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building, September 17

2012

Tasty, and Subversive, Too

Brown, Patricia Leigh. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 5 May 2013.

2012

Renegade Arborists Creating Forbidden Fruit in San Francisco

Crawford, Amy.  The San Francisco Examiner. The San Francisco Examiner, 4 Jan.

2012

Guerrilla Grafters Covertly Add Fruit-tree Branches to Ornamental trees

Doctorow, Cory.  Boing Boing ,25 Sept

2012

Resilient Disobedience: Guerrilla Grafting

Finley, Klint. Technoccult RSS. 27 Sept.

2012

Guerrilla Grafters Turn Ornamental Trees into Fruit-Bearing Trees

Froyo, Rene. The Bay Citizen. 27 Feb.

2012

In San Francisco, a Secret Project Bears Fruit

Ganga, Maria L.  Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, (11 Sept. 2012

2012

Civil Eats City Fruit Guerrilla Grafting Comments

Larenas, Patricia.  Civil Eats. N.p., (23 Mar. 2012

2012

Guerrilla Grafters Go out on a Limb

Levy, Tom.  SFGate. (27 Aug. 2012

2012

Guerrilla Grafters

Morton, Simon. Radio New Zealand.(4 Feb. 2012

2012

Guerrilla Grafters

Pitsenberger, Trey.The Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger. (2 Mar. 2012)

2012

Rogue Artists and Organic Graffiti

Pitsenberger, Trey.  The Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger  (25 Sept. 2012).

2012

Guerrilla Grafters: Splicing Fruit-Bearing Branches Onto City Trees

Price, Andrew. Co.Exist. Fast Company (2012).

2012

Personal Biochar Kilns, Portable Factories, DiY Septic Tank Cleaning, and Guerrilla Grafting

Robb, John.  Resilient Communities RSS. ( 15 Sept. 2012

2012

Guerrilla Grafters" Seek to Bear Fruit on Streets of San Francisc

Scoles, Brian.Earth Island Journal | a Publication of Earth Island Institute,( 9 Mar. 201)2

2012

Guerrilla Grafters

Selke, Lori. EthicalFoods.com. N.p., (Aug. 201)2

2012

Guerrilla Grafters Bring Forbidden Fruit Back To City Trees

Shavelson, Lonny. NPR. NPR, (7 Apr. 2012).

2012

Guerrilla Grafting, a How-To Guide

Slayton, Joyce.  The CHOW Blog. CBS Interactive, (11 Jan. 201)

2012

Guerilla Grafters Bring Fruit to the Masses

Thomas, Natalie.  SFBay.(Feb.-Mar. 2012

2012

Guerilla Grafters Secretly Splicing San Francisco Trees With Fruit-Bearing Branches

Wilkey, Robin. huffingtonpost.com 04 Jan.

2012

Fruitful Disobedience: Guerrilla Grafters Grow Undercover Orchards

Wilson, Jenny. SmartPlanet. CBS Interactive, (17 Sept. 201)2

2012

The Road Goes On

Bingham, Daniel. ( 23 Dec. 201)1. theroadgoeson.com

2011

Guerrilla Grafters Create Illegal, Fruit-Bearing Street Trees

Grover, Sami. TreeHugger. TreeHugger MNN Holding, (19 Dec. 201)1.

2011

Guerrilla Grafters: Splicing Fruit onto a City's Trees

Staff,  Fair Companies. Fair Companies, (13 Nov. 2011).

2011

Guerrilla Grafters Make San Francisco's Trees More Fruitful

Scott, Katie.  Wired. Conde Nast, (19 Dec. 2011). Web

2011

Other Reviews

What is Internet Art?

Lunenfeld, Peter, artmagazin.co.yu

2002

Telephone Art

Wilson, Stephen, Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology MIT Press

2001

Women, Art and Technology

Restructuring Power: Telecommunications Works Produced by Women, Judy Malloy, MIT Press

2001

Public Art in Cyberspace

Terri Cohn, Artweek

2001

In Search of the Telephone Opera

Lunenfeld, Peter, Snap To Grid; A User’s Guide to Digital Arts, Media, and Cultures, MIT Press

2000

The Elements: Earth

Terri Cohn, Artweek

1999

Day of the Dead, TechnoStyle

DeMocker, Judy, Wired

The Precise Location of a Moment: Artists and Time in Public Space

Cohn, Terri, Artweek

1997

In Search of the Telephone Opera

Lunenfeld, Peter, Afterimage v. 25, n. 1

1997

Hovering in the Multimedia Background

Potts, John, RealTime

1997