Rubnitz was a pioneer of
video art, and his underground films were inspired by pop culture and Las Vegas-style shows. A number of his works feature
RuPaul and members of
The B-52s. He was close with the actress, singer and
Club 57 founder
Ann Magnuson. Rubnitz cameos as the bartender in the B-52s' music video
Love Shack. Rubnitz and the B-52s produced a
public service announcement for the Art Against AIDS organization's "Summer of Love" project in 1987. The work visually referenced the cover of ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' by
The Beatles in
tableau vivant form, featuring the
B-52s,
Willi Ninja,
Allen Ginsberg,
Nam Jun Paik,
Quentin Crisp,
Lady Bunny,
David Byrne, and others. His works also include the spoof cooking videos "Strawberry Shortcut" and "Pickle Surprise" (1989). The film "Listen to This" (1992), a collaboration with
David Wojnarowicz and unfinished at the time of his death, critiques the
Reagan and
Bush Administrations for their failures addressing the AIDS crisis. The film was shown at
MoMA's 2017–18 exhibit
Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983. It was also shown at OutFest in Los Angeles in 2014, and at Seoul International New Media in 2015. Rubnitz said of his art, "I wanted to make things beautiful, funny and positive—escapes that you could just get into and laugh through. That was really important to me." ==Personal life==