Something Weird @ MAD Museum 6/9/12 7PM

Believe it or not all my rambling about VHS has paid off! The Museum of Art and Design, Jake Yuzna, Rebecca Cleman and I (Matthew Desiderio) have put together the mother of all VHS tributes with screenings, workshops, and a real functioning video store on site.

VHS at MAD takes places between June 9th and August 18th.

Museum of Art and Design is located at 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Come see VHS get its due respect at the MAD Museum in NYC! The Museum of Art and Design has allowed the likes of VHShitfest, Horror Boobs, Lunchmeat Vhs Fanzine and more to present films of the VHS era that are dear to their hearts. Experience rare SOV classics like Hellroller and Tales From The Quadead Zone on the big screen, come to a live work out session dictated by the weirdest fitness videos in existence, or come and rent a copy of Jerry Macguire from the pop-up rental store. VHS makes anything possible and this is proof so don’t miss this chance to be a part of VHiStory!

In celebration of the influential medium known as VHS, the Museum of Arts and Design presents a three-month survey of the short-lived video revolution. VHS screenings include a wide array of VHS offerings, including rare genre films, bootleg rock concert videos, independent works by the likes of Todd Haynes, Troma Video, and Nam June Paik, live workout classes by Richard Simmons and Susan Powter, and lost public access gems. In honor of its VHS series, MAD has also recreated a video rental store within its walls. In its exploration of the mutliple facets of the format, VHS demonstrates the impact of this technology on the history of cinema.

What beter way to kick it all of this Friday June 9th at 7PM than with a screening of the H.G. Lewis classic Something Weird screened from a special composite tape containing Something Weird Video trailers, a Joe Bob Briggs intro and outro from The Sleaziest Movies in the History of the World tape, and more!  And who better to present it than my good buddy, Horror Culture Enthusiasts and lover of Something Weird: Mike Hunchback.

Something Weird
1967, Dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis
With Tony McCabe, Elizabeth Lee, and William Brooker

Directed by cult icon Herschell Gordon Lewis, Something Weird brings together a uncanny plot including LSD, psychic phenomena, a grotesque witch who can morph into a beautiful young woman, a kung fu socialite, ghosts, federal agents, psychopaths, and much more. A standout work from the midcentury exploitation and underground film movement, Something Weird was nearly lost until the distribution company Something Weird Video was founded in 1990, taking both its name and its logo from the film.

Something Weird Video released numerous Gordon Lewis films, as well as many other exploitation films, European genre films, and forgotten classics. Taking advantage of the video market formed by VHS, Something Weird Video and other likeminded distributors originated a curatorial approach that championed cinematic works through VHS release and video store selections. By doing so, these companies gave new life to cinematic oddities that pushed boundaries in both their subject matter and their approach to narrative filmmaking.

Special introduction by Mike Hunchback, Horror Culture Enthusiast and curator of Hershel Gordon Lewis and Frank Henenlotter retrospective.

So put everything else on pause and come out to one of the many VHS events at the MAD Museum!