Paul D. Miller

 (aka DJ Spooky)
American, b. 1970

Manifesto for a People’s Republic of Antarctica, 2011–12
Inkjet print

Remarkably, no one owns or governs the continent of Antarctica. In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty established a scientific preserve that bars military activity. Inspired by this treaty, Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) created a series of digital prints that promotes the coexistence between people and the planet. These posters also respond to the “propaganda war about climate change” perpetuated by deniers of scientific evidence. The artist’s prints reference Alexander Rodchenko’s (Russian, 1891–1956) revolutionary graphic design style born from an idealistic vision of the future.

In 2010, Miller joined the Cape Farewell project in the Arctic. His two polar experiences inform Book of Ice (2011), which also reflects the artist’s interest in the transformational qualities of ice from solid and liquid states. Forging relationships with scientists who study the geometry of ice, the artist creates music from geometric patterns that he calls “acoustic portraits of ice.” An essay in this book by Brian Greene, physicist at Columbia University, further grounds the work in the science of ice.