Bay Area Artist Lecture with John Sanborn at Osher Lecture Hall SFAI

John Sanborn gave an artist lecture titled Gilligan's Wake at San Francisco Art Institute on February 8, 2018. John Sanborn is an important figure of the second generation of American video artists. He was friends with Nam June Paik and was associated with many other well known artists. During his lecture, he showed a range of his work from 1970 which were more experimental to his current works being shown. His earlier works were about conscious memory with a musical theme. His more recent works are much more elaborate and involve composers, choreography with dancers, and etc.



He explained that the beginning works were highly experimental because of the new technology of the time. It was far more technical in the sense that a lot more machinery was necessary for him to film and edit the videos. Whereas now, he can edit and upload the videos all on his Iphone.



At the end of the interview, I asked him a question: If he feels the need to set limitations for himself because the beginning works were defined by the limitations of the technology but now he has access to far more new technology?
He wasn't thinking much about the limitations of the technology while creating his earlier works and even today he doesn't feel like he is overwhelmed with the new technology, as he is still discovering what the new technology is capable of.