Mode of Program Participation
Performances and Arts
Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
Glimpses of Life in Bell Co, Kentucky, 1940-1960: A Coal Camp Doctor's Home Movies (Film with original score)
Session Abstract or Summary
This unique screening and performance will feature preserved 16mm. color home movies shot in the 1940s and 50s by Bell County, Kentucky coal camp doctor John Parrott. The silent films will be accompanied by a live performance of an original score by composer Robert Andrew Scott.
Parrott’s films document a range of local events including a family field day and kids’ costume contest, a cheerleading squad at a high school football game, a small-town circus parade, a tobacco farmer harvesting leaves, and a church group attending a river baptism. The images capture archetypal events and rituals of mid-century American social life while depicting local experiences that are particular to the rural Appalachian community of Bell County, KY. The score by Robert Andrew Scott combines scales and elements of traditional Appalachian music with international folk and drone techniques, as well as a custom-built system for live layering of instrumental elements.
The performance running time is approximately 30 minutes. The presenters are also available to participate in a post-screening discussion that will include composer/performer Robert Andrew Scott and Appalshop Archivist Caroline Rubens.
An ASA event will be the second performance of this piece, which premiered at Appalshop's annual Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival in June 2016. A 90-second trailer for the Seedtime event can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/168399737
Presentation #1 Title
Post-performance Q&A
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Caroline Rubens will introduce the films, moderate a Q&A with the composer and take questions about the films and their preservation.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Caroline Rubens is the Archivist at Appalshop, a media arts and education center in Whitesburg, KY, where she oversees the management and conservation of regional audiovisual, photographic, and paper collections. She is a graduate of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation master's program at NYU.
Presentation #2 Title
Post-performance Q&A
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
Robert Andrew Scott will participate in a discussion of his performance and score for the films.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Robert Andrew Scott is an improvising multi-instrumentalist and composer living in eastern Kentucky. His first major collection of chamber compositions saw its premiere performance and recording in 2016, and other pieces have been commissioned for documentary film scores and theatre productions.
Post-performance Q&A
Caroline Rubens will introduce the films, moderate a Q&A with the composer and take questions about the films and their preservation.
