Peripheral ARTeries
Bug Davidson
Bug Davidson (USA) an artist’s statement
Nothing like Ivanhoe is a short experimental film that seeks to describe the mechanics of modern filmmaking technique. Investigating sound, music and visual collaboration in what we, the present day audience, take for granted as a talking picture. Scoring music live from within the frame two composers affect the action onscreen. A cause-effect reversal of recognition evolves from music driving the action at the point of audition. This can imply a new reality or perverted relationship between sound and picture. A historical question of classification regarding melodies and motifs from within the cinema is asked of the audience, all while following queer individuals in their habitat on Austin's east side. The cast and crew of Nothing like Ivanhoe are from the Austin Community. The cast consists of a group of people I have been working with creatively for eight years. Together we are a reflection of the working class queer community with whom, I have come of age. Our homes, our day-to-day existence, and reflection of ourselves are documented here. I feel I have grown as a director with this community, as their talents for performing, music and visual arts have also flourished. This work arrives in a succession of films where I attempt to interpret both our unique identities as well as similarities to those in our neighborhoods and communities. All while communicating a humor, style and class politic that defines us outside of consumerist gay and lesbian culture. In the genre of queer film and video I hope to participate in an expansion of
A still from Nothing Like Ivanhoe
capacity, as artists in this medium are presently doing. The redundancy of story in our collective cinematic past has surfaced to emphasize what many in the contemporary audience see as an 4