The Prevailing Wisdom is a trio of John Sanborn’s recent works revolving around the theme of subjectiveness as representations of the human body to incite arcane reactions and unmodified antiphony.
The series is made up of 3 video works “Noire”, “Modes” and “Blanche”. As “Modes” celebrates a spectrum of possibilities, “Blanche” - meaning white and “Noire” meaning black in French, show the two ends of a spectrum. The Prevailing Wisdom is a representation of a woman’s fearless confrontation against any supposed prejudice towards her body or identity. As she portrays herself through constant movement, the work reflects assumptions and suppositions back onto the viewer.
Statement from the Artist
"For several years, I have worked with Sarah Cecelia Bukowski, a dancer who carries the ironic burden of being taken (and mistaken) for her body. She has written about and created works that speak to how her identity is inexorably tied to her frame, her form and her figure. These unfortunate acts of shallow miscalculation miss the essence that is her power. Sarah is an emblem of human possibilities; being mixed race, too tall and angular for standard dance considerations, and a transcendent amalgam of masculine and feminine. She celebrates this complicated state of being, as she effortlessly controls the transformation of characteristics into character. She is a muse, to me, because she fearlessly confronts this challenging cliché, owns it, then refutes it, and establishes herself as herself. I admire her facility in redefining the obvious and in our work together we reflect assumptions and suppositions back onto the viewer."
