A precocious individual who experimented with drugs at a young age, Barbara Rubin electrified New York City’s underground-cinema community as a 17-year-old assistant to scene guru Jonas Mekas in 1963. She quickly insinuated her radical ideas about sexuality, spirituality, and formal techniques into the counterculture with Christmas on Earth and other works. Rubin later became a key figure in Andy Warhol’s Factory, shooting Uptight #3, which helped to mythologize legendary rock group the Velvet Underground. Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground also delves into Rubin’s obsessive, fraught relationship with Allen Ginsberg and her immersion in Orthodox Judaism, which shifted her from subversive art-making to what friends and colleagues viewed as subservient motherhood. This documentary from Chuck Smith effectively portrays her galvanizing, bewildering life.
Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground screens tonight at the 45th Seattle Film Festival. For a breakdown of what’s showing this final week of SIFF, and when, visit The Stranger’s SIFF site.
