George Kuchar

When I first heard about Kuchar and saw his films, I had a flash back like the one I had with Eiko and Koma. I know that it is less likely I could saw them before here in New York during my 10-year stay. However, seeing them reminded me of some close, familiar, forgotten and rediscovered relationship.

I read about Kuchar’s exhibit at MoMA PS1 in January of 2012, “recognized” him, and rushed to the museum. I had to come to PS1 tree or four times to see as many of his films as I could. I loved Cult of Cubicles from 1987 ( I was 10 years old and lived in Ukraine :-)). Kuchar visits his old friends who live in different parts of NY: Queens, Hell’s Kitchen, LES, UES, and his mother in the Bronx. They are artists, actors, painters. I’ve got to see NYC in 80’s, follow Kuchar in their homes, and laugh at his last visit to a female friend who is about to have sex with her bf with Kuchar naively interrupting the process.




My next favorites were:

Season of Sorrow (1996) - Kuchar's kitty died. Rain and wind outside.

500 Millibars to Ecstasy (1989) – I enjoyed Kuchar’s invention (?) when half of the image is being streamed from the tape and half – form the TV monitor. Scene stays the same, but texture and quality of the images changes. Experimenting with VHS players, TV monitors, multiple video channels, distorting image with the help of magnets and other devices marked the video art era.


Metropolitan Monologues (2000) – consisted of sketches of the city, the images of Kuchar at home, people on the streets, conversations with friends, nature and weather.


I, of the Cyclops (2006) – is a series of conversations with Kuchar’s famous friends like Robert Breer and John Waters.




Ancestral Antics (2007)

Hush, Hush, Sweet Harlot (1999)


Club Vatican (1984)

Lingo of the Lost (2010)

The Fall of the House ()

The Smutty Professor (2003) – Kuchar with his students gets ready for an alien-invasion-great-war shoot, they are having so much fun: I am really sorry I did not get a chance to be his student! “Invasion of the saucer men”

We, the Normal (1975) – Kuchar’s getting together with his friends and visits Lorna’s new house. Memorable quote: “Blondes always have more fun. You have to use lots of peroxide to put some color in your life” and “Run for Life” – said to a squirrel –cut – jogging man.

The Creeping Crimson (1987) Kuchar visits his mother in a hospital, films red colored trees: “Look what’ve fallen from the tree…” – Kuchar brushes through red rusty leaves, pages from a porno magazine with a woman’s face next to a fallus, and a condom. I also liked his remark about “paranoid fat people locked inside”.

Snap ‘n’ Snatch (1990) – cuts of girls taking pictures of other people montaged to an upbeat music.

Video Album 5: The Thursday People (1987) – did not watch this one because the player got broken.

Hold Me While I’m Nude and I, an Actress both are available online, I watched them many many times and will watch many times more.


Queen Congo (2006) – did not finish, ummm…

Calling Dr. Petrov (1986) – memorable quote: “She strips and she acts in dirty films but her heart is pure.” – about character’s mother who is about to die and go to hell (?).

Insanitorium (1987) – beautiful woman is in love with King Kong. Theater of Absurd.

Orphans of the Cosmos (2008) – could not watch, boring, poor actors.

I Married a Heathen (1970!) – Kuchar was 28 y.o. What a wonderful film! It shows relationship of a few couples, where beautiful and stylish dressed up women are dissatisfied with their sluggish dirty stinky farting husbands and are about to break up. “A desperate woman is capable of everything, even adultery with a blind man!.. May I kiss you?” – “Yes!”

A Reason to Live () – black and white, gorgeous ladies, everybody dies at the end. Woman in the opening scene looks out in the window and in a pathetic voise says: "i'm going to give my praises to the lord of the sun who shines its light obto my beloved!" The 'beloved' brutally betrays her immediately after the prayer.

Same woman-man relationship as in 'I married...' She's gorgeous, dressed up in a night party dress, he's in a dirty t-shirt, sluggish, unappreciative. They are clearly from different epochs and walks of live.

Pagan Rhapsodies () love somewhere on Hawaii.

Ascend of the Demonoids () – members of a local UFO club talk about flying saucers.