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.
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.
V+M aquired by the Kunsthalle Praha
John Sanborn | 2015
I am pleased to announce that the Kunsthalle Praha has acquired my multichannel media work V+M, for its collection. Founded by The Pudil Family Foundation as a non-governmental organization and non-profit platform, Kunsthalle Praha’s aim is to connect the Czech and international art scenes.
I am honored and gratified to be included in such an exciting and inspiring institution, and look forward to their exhibition of the work within the context of their vision for 20th and 21st Century art works.
THE FRIEND
Festival Videoformes
March 18 - April 4, 2021
in the the Chapelle de l’Ancien Hôpital Général, Clermont-Ferrand, France
We spend our lives searching for ideas, structures and people to invest our faith in, because we think they will provide us with answers to questions we KNOW cannot be answered.
This 17 channel installation work presents the leader of a new religion called "New Thought" - a mysterious and charismatic figure, who calls themselves The Friend, delivering 7 sermons filled with instruction, divination, personal confession and a sticky mess of ambiguity.
The Friend is accompanied by 8 Saints of dubious distinction, and animations of their relics, who testify to this new religion and celebrate the freedom to build a utopia, albeit consisting of damaged souls.
The Friend is performed by John Cameron Mitchell.
Duck Stab! Alive!
written and performed by
The Residents
directed by John Sanborn
The Residents debuted a special new performance, Duck Stab! Alive!, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the long-running alternative variety/music show, Night Flight. The performance will air June 5th on the Night Flight Plus app.
Duck Stab! Alive! is described in a release as a “contemporary ‘live-in-the-studio’ re-imagining” of the Residents’ 1978 album, Duck Stab! The performance was directed by video artist John Sanborn, who has regularly collaborated with the Residents since the Nineties.
God in 3 Persons
a collaboration between
The Residents
and John Sanborn
The Museum of Modern Art, NY
January 24 + 25, 2020
Legendary performance group the Residents, in collaboration with media artist John Sanborn, have created a singular, live video/theater version of their legendary 1988 album “God in Three Persons”- the story of a disgraced preacher and his twisted obsession with a pair of conjoined twins he claims to be miracle workers.
Adapted by Sanborn for the stage, G3P features new orchestrations of 10 classic Residents' songs by musical director Joshua Raoul Brody, and we directed for the stage by Travis Chamberlain. Gender queer performer Jiz Lee plays the elusive Twins.
The work was developed during a 2 week residency at The Lab in San Francisco before premiering at MoMA .
an interactive project by John Sanborn
Commissioned by
Jeu de Paume, Paris
for their Espace Virtuel
June 27 - November 2019
Museum Night September 17 at 19h
Our definition of negative is emptiness or a void—but as with music or design, the inverse verifies the positive. One cannot know joy without pain.
In creating NONSELF, I offer evidence of consciousness, constructed from the negative space that surrounds me. It’s easy to state what IS—but the impression made from what IS NOT speaks to what is “not me” as well as our current understanding of “truth”.
NONSELF is comprised of a series of 110 short videos each of which uses “not me” attributes, attitudes and perspectives to create an inverted self-portrait.
