By Tessa Solomon
A prolific songwriter, experimental screenwriter, and engineer of his own language, Stuart Davis doesn’t believe in artistic pigeonholing.
“I would sum myself up as an artist,” he said. “They’re all just different forms of art. I find each medium helps and inspires the other ones. My music influences television, writing movies affects songs.”
The writer-singer-painter will performing at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Now on his 17th album, Davis has 30 years of material to choose from. In that impressive discography, his inspirations range from classical instrumentals to stripped-down alternative rock.
Davis began compiling his diverse body of work at the age of 16, and his multifaceted passions proved a more captivating force than a conventional career.
In the 30 years that followed, which included founding two video and audio sketch showcases — Sex, God, Rock ’N’ Roll and Art Party — and contributing to philosopher Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute, Davis was able to tailor his career to suit his disparate interests.
What might be the most influential, and ambitious, of Davis’ ventures was the development of his own constructed language, titled IS.
“I’ve always had a passion for languages. As a songwriter and screenwriter, it is the primary medium I work in. So IS started as a thought experiment,” he said. “I became curious in what assumptions or biases were built in to the perspective I inherited as an English speaker by birth.”
After working on the language for more than a decade, he noted that its fluid syntax and semantics have greatly influenced his work and artistic perspective. From penning the lyrics to a full-length album in IS to painting plumage composed in splatters of its characters, the language’s permeation is pronounced.
Using IS as a foundation, Davis’ seemingly disparate body of work gained a sense of unity — one that is also emphasized by his spiritual grounding.
“I am primarily interested in the human condition and the spiritual path,” Davis said. “Every one of those media, I’m trying to tackle metaphysical questions. I’m not interested in romantics; I’m drawn to the occult — hidden, mysterious aspects of the mind.”
These existential examinations are not only the foundation and fire beneath his songwriting, they also serve as a structure for his lifestyle.
“I’m a Buddhist practitioner,” Davis said. “It’s about the human condition, how strange it is that we exist and how uniquely infinitely curious our station is in the universe and what it means to be a self-reflexive sentient being.”
To Davis, his musical performances are fodder to those metaphysical musings.
“The main thing about performing music that is so profound is that it’s so subjective. In a room full of people, there is this immediate, intimate dynamic,” he said. “But it’s also with strangers, which is this paradoxical situation.”
After 30 years of exploring that dynamic, the importance of his presence on the stage took a back seat.
“I certainly am gratified by the experience in those moments performing,” Davis said. “And maybe in my 20s, that was enough to keep me going, but when I entered my 30s, it became more about sharing a night of music. It’s now about the ‘we.’ ”