John Sanborn

John Sanborn became one of the most prominent protagonists
of the American video art scene in the 1970s and
1980s. His work ranges from the beginnings of experimental
video art to MTV music videos, interactive art, and digital
media art. Consulting with Apple and Adobe, he contributed
to shaping the possibilities of new image tools
and was instrumental to the dawning of the digital image
revolution in California.

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, contributions by
his friends and 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.JOHN SANBORN (*1954, Huntington, New York) is a key member
of the second wave of American video artists. His body of work
spans the early days of experimental video art in the 1970s
through the heyday of MTV music/videos and interactive art
to the digital media art of today. His work has been exhibited
on television, as video installations, video games, Internet
experiences and in live performances such as God in 3 Persons,
a collaboration with The Residents, at MoMA in New York (2020).
Sanborn lives and works in Berkeley, California.