the work of media artist
JOHN SANBORN
Between Order and Entropy
works 1978 - 2022
July 9 - October 30, 2022
Curated by Stephen Sarrazin | Philipp Ziegler
ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
The exhibition presents the work of the American artist John Sanborn. This exhibition, which is the largest in Europe devoted to the artist, brings together a collection of works that spans over four decades of sound, music, interactive media and video exploration.
Sanborn's recent work consists of complex media installations that address issues of cultural identity, memory, mythologies, and the human compulsion to tell stories.
NOW THEIR PAIN IS SUGAR
music by Simon Goff
on Grand Chess Records
Life is a tale of deception whose complexity becomes more apparent as we give way to entropy. Everything we think of as solid and dependable is actually fleeting and ephemeral. Rather than find faults in cracks, tears and other imperfections, the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi encourages us to appreciate that nothing is truly perfect or permanent. There is a lesson to be learned in shifting our gaze from the surface to the essential– to find worth and purpose in what appears to be in conflict, but is in fact a complete state of being.
“NOW THEIR PAIN IS SUGAR” uses a combination of lidar and photometric scanning to produce instant 3D models of performers Sarah Cecilia Bukowski and Paunika Jones. Their slow, but defined, movements tricks the functionality of the app, to suggest the complexities of the wear and tear of living. They are at once, pain and sugar.
The FEAR Quartet
a digital edition release by Seditionart
Ruin | Fear 4
Regret | Fear 5
Rejection | Fear 9
Responsibility | Fear 15
The FEAR Quartet was created using a custom AI text/image/video to video application where media input integrated with text prompts, can be staged into “storyboard” style scenes and adjusted via over 200 command line variables. This painstaking process demands that the artist mingle their intuition with the imagination of the machine.
Between Order and Entropy
catalog/monograph
296 Pages, 520 Illustrations
Edited by: Stephen Sarrazin, Peter Weibel
This monograph brings together a collection of works that spans over four decades of exploring sound, music, cultural identity, memory, mythologies, and the human compulsion to tell stories. Essays by video art experts, reminiscences by companions, and a conversation between Sanborn and acclaimed media artist Dara Birnbaum explore the tension between mass media and contemporary art.
Sanborn himself traces the unique arc of his career and talks about a journey that took him from museums and alternative spaces to television networks, Hollywood and Silicon Valley before returning to the art world. Few other artists working with media can claim to have delved into so many visual territories.
God in 3 Persons
A Collaboration Between The Residents
and John Sanborn
April 2, 2024 | Glasgow | Grand Hall
April 3, 2024 | Manchester | Albert Hall
April 5, 2024 } Birmingham | Town Hall
April 6, 2024 | Bexhill | De La Warr Pavilion
April 8, 2024 | London } Barbican Centre
Having received its World Premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in January 2020, the piece has become a hybrid video theater experience crafted by Sanborn.
THE RESIDENTS are performing here as a six-piece musical ensemble with a featured vocalist. Renowned gender queer porn star Jiz Lee portrays the twins, seen only on screen. Travis Chamberlain directs the work for the stage with musical direction by Joshua Raoul Brody, sound design by Jake Rodriguez, puppet and prop design by Leigh Barbier. Ace Trump and Steve Saporito producers.
God in 3 Persons
DVD / Streaming release
John Sanborn, in collaboration with avant garde group The Residents, has created a stunning and unique theatrical adaptation of the groundbreaking 1988 album GOD IN 3 PERSONS. Having received its World Premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in January 2020, the piece has become a hybrid video theater experience directed by Sanborn - thanks to supporters and fans. THE RESIDENTS are performing here as a six-piece musical ensemble with a featured vocalist. Renowned gender queer porn star Jiz Lee portrays the twins, seen only on screen. Travis Chamberlain directs the work for the stage with musical direction by Joshua Raoul Brody, sound design by Jake Rodriguez, puppet and prop design by Leigh Barbier. Steve Saporito produces.