Kunsthalle Praha in Prague is presenting John Sanborn: Notes on Us, the first solo exhibition in the Czech Republic, focusing on the revered media artist who rose to fame in the 1970s and '80s. The show is on from March 1 - June 3, 2024, and treats audiences to a viewing of V+M (2015), Sanborn’s nine-channel video installation art piece that retells the myth of Venus and Mars. Also on view is Mythic Status (2015 - 2016), four digital portraits that feature genderqueer performers presented as beings from Greek mythology. The exhibition is curated by Barbora Ropková, Curator of Collection at Kunsthalle Praha, who joins STIR for an interview that explores V+M, along with the impact that Sanborn’s practice has had on contemporary music.

The myth of Venus and Mars first appeared in the epic narrative poem Metamorphoses (8 AD) by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC - 17/18 AD). In the story, Venus, the Roman goddess of love, begins an affair with Mars, the god of war, despite Venus being married to Vulcan, the god of blacksmiths. Vulcan suspects his wife of infidelity and fashions a fine iron net to catch the lovers in the act. His plan succeeds, and he exposes Venus and Mars to the rest of the Roman pantheon to be ridiculed.

The myth detailed above is commonly read as a moralising story that chastises infidelity. Sanborn’s interpretation deviates by focusing on the protagonists’ relationship instead of its repercussions and celebrates love across sexualities by depicting three pairings—a male and a female lover, two female lovers and two male lovers. Ropková tells STIR that the American artist believes the story of Venus and Mars intersects with our eternal fascination with the indisputable power of love. This is consistent with some readings of the myth, which highlight Venus’ role in subduing Mars—who is commonly associated with violence—through her love for him. Ropková also mentions that the video art piece arose from Sanborn’s desire to portray romantic pairings that go against the grain. In her words, “...the classical chastisement of these archetypical characters reflects a kind of morality which true love rejects. When he was looking for a story of a couple that offers the possibility of erasing gender roles and representing a universal love story, he came upon the myth of Venus and Mars, whose characters can be viewed as personality attributes without specific gender designations…”

The classical chastisement of these archetypical characters reflects a kind of morality which true love rejects. - Barbora Ropková, Curator of Collection at Kunsthalle Praha

Ropková explains that one may interpret the original story with a focus on infidelity, but the message of Sanborn’s artwork is highly humane. “It presents the idea that the desire to love each other reaches beyond gender, as we must view acceptance, empathy and love as basic human rights. Moreover, V+M challenges our ideas of love, presenting and examining its various views and perspectives,” she said. Her reading of V+M is that it is underpinned by a mixture of inspiration drawn from popular culture, along with philosophy and religion.

Going beyond V+M, Sanborn’s earlier works have had a deep and lasting impact on the field of moving image, especially on music video production. Ropková discusses some of these, referencing in particular, the artist’s work on the abstract video art piece meant to accompany Act III (1983) by Philip Glass. Sanborn created the colourful video alongside fellow video artist Dean Winkler. The curator tells STIR, “Act III is in the collections of many major museums and was pronounced one of the 100 Greatest Works of Moving Image Art by the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (ZKM) and was indeed broadcast on MTV and around the world. Alan Hunter, one of the five original MTV VJs named it one of the 10 best music videos ever.”

The critical acclaim Sanborn has received for his contributions to media art is well-deserved and positions him as one of the most important artists to take up the medium. While Notes on Us is by no means an exhaustive offering of his works, the exhibition plays an important part in introducing Sanborn to Czech audiences.

‘John Sanborn: Notes on Us’ is on view at Gallery 3 of the Kunsthalle Praha from March 1 - June 3, 2024.

As the international LGBTQIA+ community continues to march boldly forward, with greater visibility and advocacy than ever before, it continues to make original art that tells important stories. And we at STIR are always listening, eager to bring you more voices in the years ahead. Happy Pride Month!