We Should Be You: A Study for Physical Interpretation (Simon)

In We Should Be You: A Study for Physical Interpretation (Simon), Los Angeles based artists Samuel White and Andrew Tonkery utilized the Center for Curatorial Studies Bulletin Board at Bard as a platform for an interactive installation that developed throughout the length of the exhibition. By inviting passersby to call his personal phone number in Los Angeles and engage in a brief but intimate conversation, White interacted with the CCS Bard community, whom he never physically encounters, surpassed the everyday barriers that limit personal relationships.

During the course of the project, White’s cell phone number was on display on an instructional sheet inside the bulletin board’s glass case. The instructions invited passersby to call the artist during specified performance hours and describe their physical manner of dress and appearance in detail, top down. Guided by the participant’s response, phone voice, and mannerism, White and Tonkery developed a staged photographic series in which White assumed the caller’s guise through the use of costumes, makeup and pose. Throughout the duration of the show, the artists mailed the photographic portraits to be mounted on the board for display. Assuming the participant’s likeness, White offered the CCS Bard a tangible manifestation of each private interaction, thus forfeiting his identity in a cordial gesture of friendship across geographic lines.