Press Room

New York, NY (October 15, 2010)

On Thursday October 28, 2010, at 7 p.m., the Museum of Arts and Design premieres Screen Test (2010), a film by the video artist and performer Rob Roth-a movie version of his stunning and fantastical award-winning rock opera of the same name. Starring female punk rocker Theo Kogan, and also featuring an original soundtrack written and performed by Kogan’s punk band Theo and the Skyscrapers, this vibrant cinematic kaleidoscope encapsulates the presentations of the original theatrical event, which combined elements of dance, music, and film. The result is an equally potent and immersive experience: a blend of images, sounds, and movement that inundates the senses, raising questions about artifice, politics, and reality.

"I’m thrilled to be premiering the video version of Screen Test at the Museum of Arts and Design," says Rob Roth. "It's encouraging to have an institution like MAD take interest in underground New York performance and art."

As part of the Museum of Arts and Design's public programs series on new processes, Crossover, Screen Test explores fresh possibilities in the merging of different artistic disciplines like dance and video. The film is a culminating document of different iterations of the piece, which has been performed several times since it premiered in 2007 at Performance Space 122’s multimedia Coil Festival. MAD is proud to debut Screen Test before it has its European premiere at the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.

"A staple of New York City’s arts community for decades, Rob Roth has created an exhilarating, direct, and honest body of work through performance, installation, and photography," says MAD’s Manager of Public Programs Jake Yuzna. "It is with great pleasure that we are able to host the premiere of the final form of Screen Test - a project, that like Roth himself, weaves together different art practices."

AFTERPARTY AT THE HUDSON
To celebrate the premiere of Screen Test, there will be an afterparty at 8:30 pm at the Hudson with a special performance by the dance company, Vangeline Theater, which choreographed and directed the dancers in the film. All ticket-holders are invited.

ABOUT ROB ROTH
The New York-based director and visual artist has been an influential figure and creative force since the early 1990s when, after graduating from Pratt Institute, Roth co-founded the infamous Click+Drag party at the legendary club Mother. His performance pieces and films, often presented with installations, elaborate costumes, intricate choreography and video projections, have been exhibited at a variety of venues such as Performance Space 122, Abrons Art Center, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Galapagos Art Space, Deitch Projects, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Roth has also worked in the commercial film industry designing the visual effects and movie title sequences for such films as Leon Ichaso’s El Cantante (2006) and Neil Jordan’s The Brave One (2007). In addition, Roth has designed and photographed album artwork, as well as directed music videos for musicians such as Blondie, Debbie Harry, Theo and the Skyscrapers, and Kiki and Herb. He has also created video elements and projections for performance artists like Julie Tolentino and Richard Move.

Movie tickets are: $10 general admission, $7 for MAD museum members and students with valid ID. The MAD Theater is located on the below street level of MAD at 2 Columbus Circle at 59th Street. For more information about the film premiere, go to madmuseum.org.