Video Vortex: Keith Sanborn programme

Keith Sanborn is a media artist, theorist and translator based in New York. His work has been the subject of numerous one person shows and has been included in major survey exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial, and festivals such as OVNI (Barcelona), The Rotterdam International Film Festival, Hong Kong Videotage, and Ostranenie (Dessau). His theoretical work has appeared in a range of publications from journals such as Artforum and books, such as Kunst nach Ground Zero to exhibition catalogues published by MOMA (New York), Exit Art, and the San Francisco Cinematheque. He has translated into English the work of Guy Debord, René Viénet, Gil Wolman, Georges Bataille and Napoleon among others. He has also acted as an independent curator, working with such institutions as the Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Exit Art, Artists Space, the Pacific Film Archive, CinemaTexas and others. He teaches at Princeton University, where he is a Lecturer in the Program in Visual Arts.

“Since it has existed, the net has displayed a dialectic of potlatch and recuperation, followed by detournement. Intelligence and generosity are exploited for fantastic profits, but the exploited can be hijacked as well. My work intersects the current phase of exploitation of user-supplied content on Youtube.com, etc., where 15 nano-seconds of fame are exchanged for consigning the aura of individual subjectivity to the ads framing it; in becoming part of a network of interchangeable, equivalent elements, selfhood is sold as commodity. In a necessary irony, my work functions by translating the offerings of Youtube to other contexts, repurposing them as commentary upon that context. Since this violates the principle of “host” ownership, they may not be, nor do I necessarily wish them to return directly to the scene of the crime. In place of one-way broadcast communication, the “new” spectacle offers inter-passivity, pseudo-agency. Creating resistance requires bringing forward the background. “Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain,” indeed; pay attention to the curtain.”

1. Miss South Carolina on Ms. Teen USA answers a question:

2. Her text as a song:

3. Call2prayer or Why they hate us (i.e. the US)4. Sex Machine


5. Japanese game show Lenin’s body

6. In my Language:

7. Thriller by Prison Inmates:

8. Sarcasm

9. Kate Moss Dancing

this video has been deleted on most videosharing sites, but you can still watch it here

10. Mia’s Christmas

11. Christmas Variant: Equal time for boys