HUSTLE WITH MY MUSCLE: The Short Films of Tom Rubnitz
20:30 Sat 18 Jan 2020
Tom Rubnitz defined the New York underground video art movement with his sexy, hedonistic glimpses into the 80s downtown club scene. Switching between outrageously provocative music videos for artists such as John Sex and satirical takedowns of fashion, TV stereotypes and gender roles.
This retrospective of music videos, performances and oddities celebrates the kaleidoscopic abandon of Rubnitz’s all too brief career whilst also highlighting his role as a fiercely politicised gay artist and campaigner, culmunating with the furious Listen to This, his collaboration with artist David Wojnarowicz and a powerful indictment of the Reagan/Bush administrations handling of the AIDS crisis. Programmed by Tom Grimshaw. 74’
This programme is presented in association with Video Data Bank.
Regent Street Cinema
W1B 2UW
Access
Please find all access information here, or drop a line to Helen MacKenzie at access@shortfilms.org.uk for more information or special requests.
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HUSTLE WITH MY MUSCLE
Tom Rubnitz 6 mins (US, 1986)
This rapid-montage music video for John Sex’s song “Hustle with My Muscle” portrays the singer as a ladies’ man with ample endowment to share. -
MADE FOR TV
Tom Rubnitz / Ann Magnuson 17 mins (US, 1984)
Combining Rubnitz’s skillful manipulation of the familiar “look” of TV shows with an extraordinary range of characters, from friendly housewife to desperate evangelist, performer Ann Magnuson convincingly impersonates the array of female types seen on TV in a typical broadcast day. -
PICKLE SURPRISE
Tom Rubnitz 2 mins (US, 1989)
A short, hilarious cooking mantra, featuring Sister Dimension, The "Lady" Bunny, RuPaul, David Dalrymple, Lahoma Van Zandt and Maria Ayala. "Where's the pickle? That's the surprise!" -
PSYKHO III THE MUSICAL
Tom Rubnitz / Mark Oakes 24 mins (US, 1985)
Psykho III The Musical is an intriguing play on the tension between “authentic” and “pop” camp. Originally written, directed, and produced by Mark Oates as a stage musical parody following the release of Psycho II in 1983, it was firsst performed at the East Village’s most notorious nightspot — The Pyramid Club. -
THE MOTHER SHOW
Tom Rubnitz / Barbara Lipp / Tom Koken 5 mins (US, 1991)
The Mother Show is a tribute to mothers everywhere, starring Frieda, the “living” doll. Frieda asks her mother a series of questions, such as “Mom, are there days when you feel not-so-fresh?” -
BUMP AND GRIND IT
Tom Rubnitz 5 mins (US, 1986)
A glittering, Las Vegas-inspired music video for John Sex’s song "Bump and Grind It". -
LISTEN TO THIS
Tom Rubnitz 15 mins (US, 1992)
Tom Rubnitz weaves narration, image, and a form of temporality, dislocated from ‘real time’, into a video where artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz’s loss and anger is palpable.