HONORABLE Mentions

Max Davidson, a self-professed “Devout Southern Buddist,” grew up in Gainesville, GA, attended the University of Georgia (UGA), majoring in Publication Design within the college of Journalism, and minoring in Art. He continued his studies at UGA and earned his MFA in Theatrical Design.  In 1996, he moved to San Francisco, where he resided until his death in October 2020. He worked as a costume technician for the San Francisco Opera and American Conservatory Theater. In the early 2000s, he started a freelance company, calling it Red Elephant Design, the name inspired by what he saw as a mystical high school mascot. His work entailed all kinds of jobs, including burning man clothes, noting that there was “no job too odd.” He fell into painting around 2004/2005 when he patched and repaired a friend’s ripped painting. He also sold paintings to the home staging industry, while also increasing private clients. He found that he preferred working with individual clients on commissioned pieces, something that brought him great enjoyment. 

Scott Schönfeldt-Aultman and Max Davidson met at UGA and lost touch with one another until they elatedly reconnected in the San Francisco Bay Area, after realization of having a common Facebook friend, who was also living in the SF Bay Area. Knowing of Max’s artistic talent and theatrical background, in 2016, Scott asked Max to work with him and Alex U. Inn on the design of a backdrop for a show that they eventually titled, “Suited4 Justice, Suited4Change.” This collaboration led to Max’s creation of three banners, which served as backdrop to the 2016 and 2018 drag shows. Covid-19 led to the cancellation of a live drag show, leading us to feature the banners on our suited4justice.com website, created by student Sir Liam Forbes, as an accompaniment to our 2020 virtual drag show.