Perfect Entrance by San Francisco-based artist Tim Sullivan was, at its core, a commentary on the art world’s hyperbole regarding notions of ‘emerging artists’. Sullivan tackles the thin line between comedy and tragedy, impending doom, horror, slapstick, and vulnerability. A long form, repetitive video was at the core of Perfect Entrance. Surrounding the monolith were dime-store postcards of the City of San Francisco from years past. Sullivan invited viewers to remove the self-addressed and stamped cards noting a location on the postcard and asking him to do something at that location. This interactive exhibit allowed passersby to take a proactive role in artmaking by contributing to the performance of future works. It also went through an insane amount of cards.

Jared Pappas-Kelley: Your work is executed in a number of different mediums, but always maintains a very uniform and cohesive appearance. (I’m thinking of your luggage sculptures, photographs, and film/video work). How do you approach this?

Tim Sullivan: I never really try to make my work look like… my work. I am one artist making work, so I guess it just inevitably comes out looking similar.  I have some obvious aesthetic choices that probably help this along, e.g.: deep red, pop imagery, vintage clothing, listening to joy division …whatever. I guess it all comes out whether I’m making a vibrating suitcase, a film, or a public work.

JPK: How would you describe your work?

TS: My work goes between being highly thought out, planned out, staged and highly intuitive.  Sometimes I think about it for a year before I actually do anything about it, and other times the idea will come to me and I just make the piece instantly… I guess I’m talking about my process more than my work… With the use of props and gesture I try to affect the viewer through personal reflection and individual experience, in other words, starting with what I know: myself, my history, art history, pop culture and my immediate surroundings and hope to have some effect on what is out there:  the viewer… the world. Much of my work is about gesture and miscommunication I guess. 

JPK: How did the idea for Perfect Entrance come about?

TS: This piece was first a photographic series which was a direct response to a show I was in last year called EMERGE, it was this really ridiculous show for “emerging artists”.  I thought it would be funny if for the “emerge” show I would just be emerging (jumping through the curtain). I later called it Perfect Entrance because a little before that, I was still new to San Francisco and was feeling a little uncomfortable making work.  It was funny that I couldn’t just continue making work as I was… it felt necessary to make some sort of big splash since I was new on the scene: a ‘perfect entrance’, so to speak.  So I was also thinking about that. I also thought that several images of an artist trying to work really hard at getting this thing “perfect” for the viewer and inevitably failing was kind of pathetic and fitting for that show.   At any rate, this curator, Manray Hsu, told me that he thought it should be a video, I had been thinking about it as well so I tried it out. The problem was that it didn’t work at all as a narrative, so I put it on the back burner until the Tollbooth project came up; it seems like the perfect venue to play a continuous loop where the viewer can choose the duration.

JPK: What has the response to the postcards been like so far? [Sullivan had installed an interactive postcard based portion to his installation, utilizing the Tollbooth’s proximity to a row of mailboxes.]

TS: The response has been kind of overwhelming, I didn’t really expect there to be so many willing participants. I guess it just shows that the Tollbooth is making an impact. Let me think??? A lot of people have asked me to scale buildings, which has presented some problems… Someone wanted me to hold up a poster for their band, one with lederhosen and a chicken (I will do it!), some jumping off buildings (shame on you), some really great complicated ones that I won’t go into… a bunch of people gave really great ideas, yet didn’t provide their address???  So I’m unable to send them an image of our collaboration. One person actually asked me to pray for President Bush!!!  I will, but I won’t say exactly what I’m praying for.  I will say that I believe in a vengeful god that throws lightning bolts and tartar sauce from above.

JPK: What was the surprise that your wall text alluded to for viewers?

TS: Well, if they followed the directions and sent me a postcard, they would receive a return postcard that is essentially a collaboration between them and me. So, they get to be part of the art making process and they get a piece of work to commemorate this.

JPK: What was your initial response when approached to do an installation for the Tollbooth Gallery?

TS: I was really excited.  The Tollbooth is a truly unique venue where one can really interact with the public and propose work that might not fly in more rigid institutions. I knew immediately that I wanted to do an interactive piece, but it was a bit difficult being here in San Francisco.  That’s where the postcard idea came from. I had seen these really crappy postcards (with the worst view of San Francisco) laying around at a Salvation Army for about a year.  The intersection depicted on the card is near my home and I kept thinking that there had to be something that I could do with them… So this was the perfect opportunity, and the fact that there is a mailbox next to the kiosk is even better.

JPK: What’s exciting to you about this kind of work?

TS: It’s always exciting to make work that really relies on the viewer to complete it.  Isn’t there a Duchamp quote that goes something like “the viewer completes the work”? So I’m taking this very literally I guess, and asking the viewer to be a direct collaborator with me.  It’s also exciting because you never know what you’re going to get. I’m ending up in some really bizarre situations here in San Francisco because some high school students, office workers, etc… in Tacoma wanted me to. That alone is kind of nice… And you never know where you might find good ideas.

JPK: What appeals to you about a project like the Tollbooth?

TS: First, I really love the idea of a 24 hour free art space.  The fact that people walking to work in the morning, kids walking home from school, and someone walking home drunk at 3:00AM all have a chance to see contemporary video art is great.  Also the fact that you’re pulling this out of the sterile museum/gallery setting is great.  There is such little exposure to the arts these days, especially for kids, so new methods, like the tollbooth, need to be implemented. Did you know that most elementary and high schools no longer have art teachers?! (At least in California.) Most kids don’t even have the chance to explore this side of their intelligence and don’t even know that this is something that they could do, that this is important.  The education system has become so hands off and academic it’s really sad.  The idea of a well-rounded education is over.   So blah, blah, blah, I know this all sounds pretty cliché these days, but it is true.  I imagine the idea of going to a stuffy museum with all kinds of rules is a total snore to most kids, but checking out the Tollbooth, and maybe interacting with it, could be fun or even cool.

JPK: How does this fit your past work? 

TS: I do a lot of work about failure; I hope that this has a feeling of making an attempt.  …Trying and trying to perform, but always ending up in the same place, like Sisyphus.

JPK: Whose work are you excited about lately?

TS: I’ve been really obsessed with Bas Jan Ader, I like Trisha Donnelly and I’ve been looking at a lot of 17th century Dutch still-life, Maurizio Cattelan is great.

JPK: What are you currently working on?   

TS: Well I’m working more than fulltime as an art consultant/teacher, so it’s been pretty difficult. I’m working on some photos with the legendary underground/camp filmmaker George Kuchar.  He’s an idol of mine so it’s really exciting to work with him. You know he’s a contemporary of people like Warhol, Anger, and Brackage, so he has all kinds of crazy stories and he’s really one of the most prolific, amazing, and hilarious people I’ve ever met.  Yeah, so it’s photos of him and me interacting.  In one we recreate the SHOOT piece by Chris Burden (the one where he gets shot in the arm) and George is playing the part of Chris. It’s pretty damn hilarious.