For the second Jeffrey’s Cinema in relation to Jo Baer’s solo- exhibition Jeffrey Babcock picked the following two gems:
LUCIFER RISING 1973
Directed by Kenneth Anger
30 minutes
No language
Kenneth Anger’s brooding, electrifying, mysterious half-hour short. Shot on site in Egypt with its ancient ruins as the backdrop, Anger’s visually dazzling psychedelic flick remains one of the most riveting experimental movies of the last century. Needless to say, this film needs to be experienced on the big screen. Complete with a spirit-expanding progressive-rock music score by Bobby Beausoleil, recorded in a federal prison. Starring Mick Jagger’s brother Chris, along with director Donald Cammell (Performance) cast in the role of the god Osiris, and singer Marianne Faithfull as the goddess Lilith.
CHRISTMAS ON EARTH 1963
Directed by Barbara Rubin
30 minutes
No language
As a teen Barbara Rubin was sent to a mental hospital, and when she was 16 she packed her bags and left for downtown New York City. There she became a prime mover in the underground art scene, and with this film, which was her debut, she knocked everything to another level. It was one of the most radical films made for its time, in both its form and its sexually-charged content… and she was only 17 years old when she made it. It was a cinematic feast of polysexuality, and it was meant to be screened with two projectors. Despite her huge impact—for example, Barbara introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground—her name has been written out of history and she has been almost totally forgotten. Let’s attempt to raise her spirit again with a ritual screening of her film.
