interviewed by Jill Carnes
Page 5
JC: If you were to make a protest sign at a rally - a peace rally - what would you want your sign to say?
ST: The sign that I have, that I put on my wheelchair sometimes, says: "the U.S. military and its garbage made me disabled." But that's when I'm feeling very political. What else? I like the bumper sticker that says, "love animals don't eat them." I like one that says, "why be normal," I think that's nice. These are the ones that I've seen. Sometimes I think the most powerful political statements are also done through art, so maybe I could figure out… one of my favorites songs is "Imagine."
JC: That makes me think about artists… these times, and the way the are - the politics, how things are going... I personally feel like it's a job for artists to provide escapism for people who don't… maybe job might not be the best word… not a job in the sense that we have to do it, but a job in the sense that hopefully our outcome will have been that we were able to do that for people. Do you agree with that?
ST: I get confused because sometimes I feel really spoiled and I think I shouldn't be sitting here making art; I should be out protesting, or writing an article on something. But then at the same time, I think exactly what you said… artists create - often anyway - they can create so much beauty, or at least something really sincere, even if it's not beautiful. In a world that's so full of suffering and of things that are insincere, disposable and plastic, I think it's incredibly important to fill up the world with beautiful things. I think art is absolutely essential and the fact that it isn't seen as being essential is part of the problem with the world.
JC: Going back to the subject of curiosity, I think if they could make curiosity a drug, it would sell more than cocaine; I think it would sell more than pot. It would be such a fantastic thing, it would be so exciting, that people would be besides themselves and they would have no need to resort to any other kind of thing. If they could bottle it…
ST: I think you're right. The highs that go along with being excited about something, intellectually excited, or emotionally excited, or just curious, are just the best. Even when they're incredibly depressing topics, they can be incredibly consuming things.
JC: And just because something's a sad-looking painting doesn't mean it's not an excellent piece of work that speaks volumes to someone and opens up their mind and their heart and their soul.
ST: I'd agree with that.
JC: Do you have a favorite memory?
ST: One of many, multiple favorite memories… I was in France, with my sister and her boyfriend and my best friend. We went to this city, kind of the size of Athens, and its on these old, inactive volcanoes; it's where my brother is living right now. It was pouring rain, it was really late at night, and my friend was slightly drunk, and we went wheelchair-skiing. The place was really hilly, so we'd go quickly up and slide, and it was super-dangerous on the cobblestones, but it was fun.
JC: It wasn't like sliding…
ST: Yeah, he'd run really, really fast, then tip my chair and just glide because it was slippery.
JC: Was he holding on to your chair?
ST: Supposedly. I was a little bit freaked out. So that's probably one of my favorite memories. I like playing in my wheelchair. David pushes me through the woods, which is wonderful.
JC: Did you like being in New York?
ST: I loved being in New York. I had a lot of really fun times there. A crazy, sweaty dance party we had - probably one of my favorite memories. My brother just danced like a mad man all night. When my little sister was born…
JC: Tara?
ST: When Tara was born and going to the IHOP after she was born and thinking she was really funny looking. When all the poodles were born. Being in Brazil and sitting in the hammocks watching the monkeys - that's a good memory. Playing with my brother, and building forts with my brother and sister. When my brother and I decided we were going to run away.
JC: Did you get very far?
ST: No, we decided that we'd live in the backyard and just hide from my parents. When they'd go to the grocery store, we'd jump onto the back of their car so we could go to the grocery store too; or when they left the house, we'd sneak into the house to go to the bathroom because we didn't want to rough it that much. I have lots of good memories with my siblings, and my friends, and my boyfriend…
JC: You're a lover, not a hater.
ST: I hate lots of things actually, I'm just not focusing on those things.
JC: Okay, I guess that's the end of the interview. Thanks, Sunny.
ST: Thank you, Jill.
