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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.

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.

ZKM Cover.jpg

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.

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