By the looks of things, October’s becoming something of a de facto Queer Film Month in New York City. Which is way cool, we’re always happy to see queer goings-on about town beyond Pride Month. And whether you’re a connoisseur of all things old and aging well, or live solely to soak up ever-refreshing nowness, we’ve got a couple of events that offer a slew of opportunities to attend LGBT movie happenings.
All week, we’re bringing you a series of deep dives into the surprising histories of storied addresses. Back to our usual after the New Year.
Theatrical reappropriation in the second-floor theater. (Photo courtesy of Michelangelo Alasa.)
As soon as Michelangelo Alasa heard that the theater on the second floor of 62 East 4th Street was up for rent, he grabbed a crowbar and moved toward the stairs. He swung open wooden doors on his way; his feet hit cracked, uneven white tile that on other occasions he’d stopped to admire. He made it to the stairs and began a slow, certain descent to the next floor. The marble stairway walls had been painted over since before his time, a murky indefinite color offensive mainly due to what it covered. It was 1996, and the time had come to liberate the remnants of the storied century-old theater and reclaim its striking heritage.
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If our perfume inspired by the stankiest block in NYC was just too subtle for you, then you may want to head to The Hole tomorrow for a whiff of Obscenity.
It’s not by Calvin Klein. It’s by Bruce LaBruce.
The out and outré filmmaker’s debut scent will be unveiled at the opening of a solo photo exhibition that riffs on sexual and religious ecstasy. LaBruce, whose memoir is titled The Reluctant Pornographer, is no stranger to blasphemy: his next film, Santo the Obscene, is about “a beggar saint who performs miracles and heals people through sexual acts,” he has said. The Toronto resident’s campy flicks about zombies, Nazis, and sex terrorists (Give Piece of Ass a Chance) have violated enough taboos (and featured enough gay hardcore) that his work, he says, is frequently seized by Canadian customs and labeled OBSCENITY.
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