Downtown New York. ’80s. Underground. The video work of Tom Rubnitz captured a time when creativity was erupting on the club scene. Grasping at the hedonism of the time, he featured some of the decade’s most iconic club creatures. From RuPaul to The B-52s, the psychedelic, rough and ready mid-80s can be summed up in Rubnitz’s rediculous, raucous and randy video work. This month, as part of the London Short Film Festival, the work of Tob Rubnitz is getting the attention it deserves.
He was a staple of the East Village drag scene, producing these high-production videos inspired by pop culture and Las Vegas-style shows. His most memorable work, Pickle Surprise (1989), is a hilarious short cooking video where the infamous Lady Bunny and friend RuPaul gasp at the sight of pickles. He also worked with renowned visual artist David Wojnarowicz with whom he collaborated for Listen to This (1992).
Being his last work, Listen to This is the striking culmination of an all too brief career. In it, Rubnitz pushes forward his activism in the fight against HIV/AIDS, directly calling out the Reagan/Bush administrations and their mishandling of the crisis. Rubnitz himself passed due to an AIDS-related illness in 1992 at the age of 26 making Listen to This a touching swan song.
This month, seven of his films will be screened in succession as part of a retrospective of his music videos, performances and kaleidoscopic oddities. The event is part of the LSFF who are dedicated to an agenda of experimentation, subversion and frission this year.
In keeping with this direction, the program kicks off with a cabaret-infused evening featuring a tantalising crop of performers. More Than Just a Pretty Face – Alt Drag Revolution on the 10th of January at the ICA Theatre brings together shorts from the ’80s and ’90s drag and queer culture. The shorts will be put in conversation with performances from host Baby Lame, Drag Syndrome, That Ray and Lilly Snatchdragon, with visuals from club kid Jeffrey Hinton.
Hustle with My Muscle: The Short Films of Tom Rubnitz is screening on Saturday 18th January at the Regent Street Cinema as part of the London Short Film Festival.
[…] coverage ran in national newspapers The Guardian and i Newspaper, LGBTQ coverage ran in QX Magazine and QWEERIST, culture coverage ran in frieze and Dazed, music coverage ran in DJ Mag and London […]