Humorism Trailer | John Sanborn
Humorism | John Sanborn
release by Sedition | January 15 2025
A thing is as it is, essentially the way it is, because of what it is, and it is what it is, simply by existing. So, if there is a general, instantiable qualifier, say cadence, there is nothing that makes cadence, cadence, but can render cadence, a property. Any, or all, properties of a thing can be modified during creative processes, say by acts of transformation, so that one thing can be re-rendered as another thing.
While definition has distinct outlines for determining and assembling properties, the constraints of creative acts, are virtually, limitless. The interdependence of properties exponentially expands the results of creative acts, either through structure or improvisation, to derive versions and variations of both understood and mysterious things. The first definition holds that an object is an entity that fails to experience and that is not conscious. The second definition holds that an object is an entity experienced
In other words; one thing, leads to another.
Humorism is a quintet of media works, all derived from a series of simple repetitive dance gestures, performed by Sanborn’s long-time muse - Sarah Cecilia Bukowski. Vexations and variations were then created to articulate various properties of a “thing”, using propaedeutic AI, rendered over progressive, multiple generations of processing, so that what “is” becomes a question rather than an answer.
Clearly the frequencies and cycles of dance are present, connecting the resulting abstract painterly experiences with the human body, but by overtly erasing the form, the elemental substance becomes more distinct.
In other words, spend less time on definition, and more on transformation.
Shape (1:54, loop)
We distinguish something by its shape, as we expect stability from direct observation. However, this ignores the volatility of nature, for example the mutable rain frog of Ecuador, and the innate desire to change. Fluidity is a way of being that encourages transience of being, and themes of forgiveness and redemption.
Tone (1:03, loop)
Take a pinch of syncopated shuffle, and place it in a shallow pan, and heat until the colors run, and the elasticity of the beats start to melt. Let the flow move your feet, and free your mind. Within a select range of textures, the pitch and yaw of variations will surprise you.
Mood (1:22, loop)
Transposition from one context to another can tint an atmospheric thing, without changing its properties, but reclassifying that thing, none the less. The virtue of repetition, as in the loop, is the ability to discover more with each play, no matter how much the circumstance is changed. Or as the poet says, every disguise is a self-portrait.
Value (3:27, loop)
By directly connecting references to dissimilar things, our response is reconciliation – to locate the connections between things that would otherwise cause cognitive dissonances. But Occam’s Razor cuts the cleanest with a sharp blade. And sometimes what feels buried is merely covered by a memory.
Cadence (1:48, loop)
There are no circumstances where we don’t ask, “what’s next?” Each preamble to events presumes we know the answer to that question, and each after-action debrief attempts to reconcile our prediction with the lived reality. When, in fact, what happens is what happens, with or without our interdiction.