small lies, Big Truth

1999, 18:49 min, color, sound

Based on the 1998 Grand Jury testimony of President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, small Lies, Big Truth unravels the web of meaning created by this media event. Multiple voices read lines from the court proceedings over lush Super-8 footage of animals in a zoo. The speakers, whose genders shift constantly, fix on key phrases, repeating and interrupting one another. The varied voices and configurations of gendered pronouns render the familiar words ambiguous and strangely intimate. The images of the captive animals echo the disembodied speech patterns, unfolding in fragments, looping or slowing down to emphasize details and repetitive actions. The often disquieting juxtapositions throw into question the contemporary politics of gender and sexuality.

Based on "The Starr Report," 1998. With: Hamilton Dobbs & Tracy Leipold, Joan Jonas & Ken Kobland, Kathy High & Simin Farkhondeh, Rodney Evans & David Watson. Sound Mix: Bill Seery, Mercer Street Sound. Music: "Just One of Those Things," by Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson. Guitar: Herb Ellis. Bass: Ray Brown. Drums: Louis Bellson. Written by Cole Porter, Hal Leonard Publishing. Funds provided by The Wexner Center Media Arts Program, Ohio State University and the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation.