Dreadful Penny Dreadful, a 6.1 audio video installation, dares to violate every remaining shred of “good taste” using the vehicle of Brecht and Weil’s much-abused “Moritat von Mackie Messer,” aka “Mack the Knife.” Over 200 versions collide, taking you from its origins in Weimar Berlin to the multiple travesties of Rat Pack Vegas and the many imitators of each on East Block TV and in cheesey Jersey nightclubs. Further stops along the way include Midwestern High School chorus practice and performances of ivy college a cappella groups, not to mention jazz improvisation sessions, talent shows, and rockers doing high Kultur! A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Keith Sanborn is a media artist, theorist, curator and translator based in Catskill and Brooklyn. His work has been the subject of a number of one person shows and has been included in major survey exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial, and festivals such as OVNI (Barcelona), Video Vortex, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, EMAF, Oberhausen, and Hong Kong Videotage. His theoretical work has appeared in publications ranging from Artforum and 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, Napoleon, Lev Kulshov, Esfir Shub and Paolo Gioli. He has also worked as an independent curator with the Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Exit Art, Artists Space, the Pacific Film Archive, CinemaTexas and others. He has taught at various colleges and universities along the way.