interviewed by Jill Carnes
Sunny Taylor is a painter who grew up in Athens, Georgia. She moved to New York for a few years, but returned to Georgia to finish school at her correspondence college, where she studied political theory and disability studies. In the years since this interview, she attended graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley; and has been featured in her sister Astra's film Examined Life. To learn more and view her paintings, including those interspersed throughout the interview, please visit her Web site. Also read an article Taylor wrote, published in 2004 in the Monthly Review.
Sunny Taylor: (talking about the micro-cassette recorder used for the interview) …David has used these before too. We spent one car trip… driving to Atlanta, and we had one of these, and we were both kind of nervous of it. So we both talked into it about why we were nervous of it. I think it helped.
Jill Carnes: So you got used to the machinery.
ST: Yeah, a long talk about it.
JC: Okay, cool… this is my interview with Sunny Taylor. The date is March 30, 2005.
ST: (whispering) 31st.
JC: Oh, March 31st, 2005.
ST: I could be wrong.
JC: No, I think you're right; it is the 31st. So, anyway, Sunny, what is your given name?
ST: My given name is Sunaura Celeste Taylor. Sonora is usually spelled with o's… because the word sonorous and there's the Sonora desert in Arizona and I was born in Arizona so that's why; but then they changed it to the sun's aura just because they're hippies.
JC: Okay… and Celeste because that kind of goes with it; it's celestial maybe - the sun and the whole planet thing.
ST: Yeah, I think my dad came up with that.
JC: That answers my second question: do you know where your name came from?
ST: I think, yeah, I think Celeste my dad just came up with.
JC: Now… what is your favorite type of climate? What kind of climate are you most comfortable with?
ST: Yesterday was really awesome.
JC: Which would be like… I must say, let's get more specific for the climate, maybe like a terrain: if it's hot, arid desert, or if it's cold, winter mountain. That kind of thing; put it in haiku form or something.
ST: Can I have a few? I think I like hot, ocean weather. But not damp… I'm thinking specifically of Brazil, because it was really dry and really hot and the ocean was…
JC: So that's one of them: hot, ocean, Brazil. Does that do it?
ST: Um-hmm. And then I like really windy weather and really stormy weather.
JC: Wet?
ST: Yeah, wet and stormy and really windy and loud and thundering.
JC: Oh, cool - wet, stormy, moody weather.
ST: Moody weather. Yes, I like that kind of weather.
JC: Wet, stormy… now I put in the word, "moody," but I don't want to throw words into you.
ST: It's totally moody.
JC: Does that work for you?
ST: Yep… I was surprised... I've been going to Vermont, you know... I've been going when there's tons of snow. And there's something about the snow that makes it not quite so cold. I really love the snowy days when it's really bright and sunny but there's lots of snow - really deep snow, soft snow. The only things I don't like are just when it's really cold, when it's really cold and grey and depressing, for a long time, a very long, long time.
JC: Do you find talk about weather dull or interesting?
ST: I actually find it really, really fascinating, and then I get embarassed because I bring it up all the time. It's supposed to be something that people talk about when they're being shy or proper or whatever.
JC: Right, it's a subject people resort to out of nervousness. They feel awkward but have to talk about something.
ST: Exactly, but I actually find myself excited about the weather.
JC: I like weather too. I love to talk about it with people. It's fine with me.
ST: Because you're in it, it's all around you. So I actually find it really fascinating but then I get embarassed.
JC: Right, you get embarassed because you think of how it's the typical thing to want to talk about?
ST: Right… "let's talk about how beautiful it is," and then I get embarassed.
JC: Well, I think it's good… Do you paint most days, or what's your painting schedule roughly like?
ST: My painting schedule is unfortunately sporadic. Sometimes I'll paint a lot. I think it's more that I have painting months. And if I'm in a painting month, then I'll paint every day, for all day, religiously.
JC: Will you go through times when you're maybe getting visual information for future paintings?
ST: Yeah, and I might touch the paintings every few days. I painted two days ago and I haven't since then.
JC: Because you're also in school so it takes up some of your time.
ST: My schedule has changed since school.
JC: It's hard to fit in everything all the time. I know, I have that problem too.
