Chuck Smith
Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground
Institutions (universities, libraries, museums, cultural centres…) must add institutional rights to their order. Rates vary by region (North America, Europe & UK, Asia, Oceania).
Add rightsFormat DVD9 Interzone
Original format 16mm, HD
Year 2017-2022
Language(s) English
Artist(s) Chuck Smith
Author(s) Jim Hoberman, Laura Staab, Jonas Mekas
Subtitles French
Booklet 44 pages (French, English)
Running time 115 min
Films
BARBARA RUBIN & THE EXPLODING NY UNDERGROUND (2019) 75'
DECODING CHRISTMAS ON EARTH by Chuck Smith (2022) 30'
SCHNEEMANN ON BARBARA RUBIN, GENDER, AND FILM IN THE 1960'S (2017) 10'
Description
"Smith's documentary shows how a young woman changed culture by influencing Warhol, Dylan, Ginsberg and Reed... It's one hell of a ride!"
— Now Magazine
"If the American arts have ever produced an equivalent of the French revolutionary poet Arthur Rimbaud, it might be the little-known but extremely influential filmmaker Barbara Rubin. The title of her major opus, the film "Christmas on Earth" (1964), is taken from a passage in Rimbaud's "A Season in Hell," and the revolutionary extremism of her work—as well as the actual trajectory of her life—can only evoke the 19th-century poet. The comparison is made several times in "Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground," an informative and highly anticipated documentary by Chuck Smith."
— The New York Times
"The New York artistic and cinematic avant-garde of the early 1960s may have been dominated by artists such as Jonas Mekas and Andy Warhol, but "Barbara Rubin and the Exploding New York Underground" offers a fascinating recontextualization of this history, focusing on the integral role of the young Barbara Rubin in shaping the flourishing counterculture of the time. Chuck Smith's documentary is both accessible and formally bold, echoing the style of its subject while celebrating her radical achievements."
— Variety