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Made For TV

Tom Rubnitz, Ann Magnuson

1984 00:15:00 United StatesEnglishColorMono4:33/4" U-matic video

Description

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. From glitzy to drab, from friendly housewife to desperate evangelist, Magnuson is a one-woman universe appearing on every channel, the star of every program—giving her all as the chameleon woman who is always on display.

"As the screen flickers from channel to channel, the actress Ann Magnuson appears as a teary television missionary appealing for money, as a newscaster with an almost plastic face, as a mad grotesque romping through a cemetery in a rock video and as a sincere drinker of great coffee."

The New York Times

This title is also available on Tom Rubnitz Videoworks: Sexy, Wiggy, Desserty.

About Tom Rubnitz

A quintessential New York underground film/video artist, the late Tom Rubnitz took a bite out of the Big Apple and spat it out in a wild kaleidoscope of unequivocal camp and hallucinogenic color. Ann Magnuson, the B-52s, The “Lady” Bunny, and the late John Sex are but a few of the stars that shine oh-so-brightly in Rubnitz’s glittering oeuvre. A genre artist par excellence, Rubnitz treated the sexy-druggy-wiggy-luscious-desserty qualities of the ’80s downtown club scene with the loving care only a true hedonist could show.  Rubnitz died from an AIDS-related illness in 1992.

Video Data Bank also holds Tom Rubnitz's papers (covering 1966-1992). This collection documents Rubnitz’s career, artistic development and personal life. The collection spans Rubnitz's life from childhood through his final works before his death, offering researchers unique documentation of both his personal journey and professional relationships within the New York, San Francisco and international art scene. The Tom Rubnitz Papers Finding Aid is available to researchers. Please contact VDB to make an onsite appointment.