Doors 7:30p
Program 8:00p

UnionDocs
352 Onderdonk Ave
Ridgewood, NY

Offsite- Across the street from UnDo
Grover Cleveland Athletic Field
1817 Dekalb Ave
Ridgewood, Queens NY

Come out under the stars for our first outdoor Summer Screening and behold a lively night of Community Drag Theater celebrating the dynamic and moving work of the legendary Tom Rubnitz and in partnership with the wonderful folks at Visual AIDS. We’re so lucky to also have fixtures of the scene, David Yarritu & Billy Beyond in attendance to share some memories and be in conversation for this special celebration too.

If you don’t know the work of Tom Rubnitz, it can be described by an array of adjectives including sexy, glamorous, campy, hallucinogenic, hedonistic, joyful, and romantic, but the heart of the work is the New York City queer community who came together and collaborated on this bouquet of images from the 1980s-90s.

Originally from Chicagoland, Tom Rubnitz, a New York transplant, injected both humor and clarity into the deadliest decade of the AIDS crisis. From playful takes on advertising and drag performances at the renowned Pyramid Club to more serious commentary, such as his collaboration with artist and writer David Wojnarowicz, this program describes a decade of queer culture, performance, and friendship.

We’re delighted to partner with our friends at Video Data Bank for this night that was programmed with the brilliant Emily Eddy who will be in attendance to introduce and speak through the program following.

Come through!

Program

Chicken Elaine

1983, 1:00

Rubnitz’s short cooking clip showcases a chicken casserole recipe from the kitchen of Elaine Clearfield. All you need is chicken, rice, a packet of Lipton onion soup mix, a can of cream of mushroom condensed soup, and water!

Made for TV

1984, 15:00

Combining Rubnitz’s skillful manipulation of the familiar “look” of TV shows with an extraordinary range of characters, performer Ann Magnuson convincingly impersonates the array of female types seen on TV in a typical broadcast day.

Hustle With My Muscle

 1986, 4:00

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. “Can you handle all the man below my belt?” he provocatively asks.

The Mother Show

 1991, 4:00

Produced by Tom Rubnitz in collaboration with Tom Koken and Barbara Lipp, The Mother Show is a tribute to mothers everywhere, starring Frieda, the “living” doll.

From the Files of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge

 1983, 6:00

From The Files of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge is a series of video clips taken at the Pyramid Club, a seminal location for the East Village drag scene in the midst of the club’s most influential years.

Listen to This

1992, 15:30

Listen To This is a fragment of collective memory that finds critical relevance in contemporary Queer discourse.  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.

Drag Queen Marathon

1986, 5:00

A dragumentary about a day in the life of a score of drag queens on the lookout for photo opportunities at Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim Museum, Tiffany’s, and in SoHo. A tripped-out Hapi Phace shares her haiku, and The “Lady” Bunny pouts about the concept of unisex clothes.

Program Duration: 51 mins + Q&A

Bios

Emily Eddy is a writer, curator, producer, and cinephile living and working in Chicago, Illinois. Her work has appeared in books, on screen, and online. She has programmed short films at multiple festivals nationwide including Chicago International Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, and Onion City Experimental Film + Video Festival. She has been the volunteer director of Nightingale Cinema since 2018. Emily received her M.A. in Visual & Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020 where she focused on contemporary theory, writing, and film studies. She currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Billy Beyond is a multidisciplinary artist, working in photography, film, music, and perfume amongst other media. As one of the stars of Strawberry Short-Cut, Billy worked with Tom Rubnitz on the creation of his beloved elfin character.

David Yarritu moved to New York City in 1983 and met and befriended Tom Rubnitz that year. David is currently scanning and archiving hundreds of the Polaroids that he shot in the 1980’s, including over 200 images documenting early Wigstock festivals.

Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over. visualaids.org