Spectral Truths is an auto-theory live desktop performance lecture with live sound accompaniment grounded in archival research into the artistic and activist work of my late friend Leslie L Smith (1968-2019). Among other materials, I interrogate his 1997 film David Searching. film is about a young gay documentary filmmaker (played by a young Anthony Rapp) living in New York who shields himself from desire and sociality behind his camera. The film concludes with David's short documentary, a montage of people's responses to the question: "what is a universal truth for you?"
For this performance, I created a retro desktop emulator that functions as a performable archive of video and text materials. The desktop also serves as a vehicle for animating and rendering my own writings about Leslie's work and our relationship.
I'm interested in the social temporality of David's question -- truths are propositions resounded through time. Half a decade after Leslie's passing, in the wake of my own coming out, I feel through latent resonances with his work which I can only call lower-case "truths" about life, death, and AIDS with ghosts-of-my-life-cum-queer-elders. I want to ask: what truths will you put forward to future generations? Who will you haunt?
Performed 7.22.26 @ Elastic Arts in Chicago IL with live accompaniment by percussionist Avreayl Ra.