Films by George Kuchar

Film

Flyer for Bikini Girl’s screening of George Kuchar’s Portrait of Ramona at Club 57, 1980. Design by Bikini Girl editor Lisa Baumgardner. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Department of Film Special Collections

Underground filmmaker George Kuchar, whose work screened at Club 57 on two occasions, can be counted as one of the spiritual godfathers of the Downtown scene for his no-budget, small-gauge films (many made with his twin brother Mike) that were steeped in melodrama and exploitation films. Aside from being an influence on “Pope of Trash” John Waters, Kuchar’s riffs on the nuclear family, bad taste, and glamour were echoed in the ironic take on the rituals of American childhood staged in Club 57 events, as well as Cinema of Trangression’s hardcore exploration of these same themes. This trio of films, made between 1966 and 1971, are studies of psychodrama, sexual frustration, and family feuds that each culminate in saturated color palates and musical crescendos. Courtesy of Mike Kuchar and Anthology Film Archives

Portrait of Ramona. 1971. USA. Directed by George Kuchar. 16mm. 25 min.

The Sunshine Sisters. 1972. USA. Directed by George Kuchar. 16mm. 36 min.

Hold Me While I'm Naked. 1966. USA. Directed by George Kuchar. 16mm. 15 min.

This film accompanies You Are Now One of Us: Film at Club 57.

Saturday, February 10, 2018, 4:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Monday, February 5, 2018, 7:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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