The Museum of Modern Art awarded video artist Bill Rabinovitch a solo evening of selected
segments from his archive which was shown as part of the MoMA
Cineprobe series in the Titus Theater in the spring of 2001.
Rabinovitch has developed a unique style which mixes scripted actors with
cinema verite style documentation of non-actors reacting to the situations
set up in the script. In his Battle-of-Armageddon, the hero's Public Access
cable show is revealing Prince Satan's battle plans, and various real religious
groups are shot reacting to the footage.
Although the devils' plot is portrayed with dark humor, the reactions of
real audiences of believers provide a layer of verisimilitude, and
a serious examination of the role of belief in people's lives.
Thus Rabinovitch combines a type of "reality TV,"
(albeit on a higher plane than most) with the dramatic plot developments
that art permits, as Prince Satan's battle plans are revealed in episodes of
his hero's Public Access program, trying the faith of the believers being documented.
Besides being a painter and film maker, Rabinovitch's background also includes being
an Air Force jet pilot, engineer and space research scientist. He's produced a series of prize winning multimedia plays
for cable television about artists such as Picasso, Max Beckmann, Frida Kahlo, Egon
Schiele and Julian Schnabel. Several have won first awards including his
Picasso and the Weeping Women done in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
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