-what were you doing before photography/how did you get started ?
RC:
i worked as a fashion stylist, designer & costumer for 16 years,
(1980- 1996) during that time, i worked with people that
have become very famous, including photographers- herb ritts, george
hurrell, and joel-peter witkin, designers- jean-paul gaultier,
michele lamy and rick owens, performers-bette midler, david
bowie, and tina turner, actors- mel gibson, drew
barrymore and john leguizamo, models- cindy crawford,
janice dickenson and beverly johnson, and talk show
host- david letterman.
after working
in the fashion industry for 15 years, i had no interest to work
with clothing ever again. clothing styles change with the
season, the nude figure is timeless.
i
have always identified with transgression and subculture, all along i
felt out of sync with the mainstream world i had entered within
fashion/celebrity industries. deep down i knew i was a true fetish
person, and the mainstream world was manufactured artifice.
around 1986, somewhat encouraged by joel-peter witkin, i started
to experiment with my own photography. initially i thought
i would be a fashion photographer, but my initial
images appeared harsh. they had a docudrama style that
initially came across as too hard, but i then embraced. those 4
years of experiment became my first book of photographs called- CASTRO,
( published by the tom of finland company- DPR press 1991) now out of
print. i have another more recent book called- 13 YEARS OF
BONDAGE, (fluxion editions 2004).
i
was never trying to create fashion, i was actually reacting
against fashion and all the constraints that go with the industry. i
despised fashion and was happy to no longer be part of the machine. i
also felt like the industry had shunned me, once i exposed who i really
was- a kink! after creating photographic fetish images for
about 10 years, flaunt magazine contacted me and asked me to do photos
for hedi slimane's menswear. i was shocked to see a 360 degree
turnaround from 10 years prior when no one would touch me with a
ten foot pole. i remember during 1989 after viewing my
photographic portfolio, annie flanders, (first publisher/editor
of details), said to me- " must i be subjected to this?"
-how
much direction do you give to your models on set? Is there space for
improvisation or you like things to be set up before the shoot?
i
always know what i want, and visualize the finished image in
my head way before i pick up the camera. with that said, i let things
happen and go with the flow. i always take my lead from the model. if
they are giving something, i take more, if they are holding back, i
work with that. the main thing is to document the moment, as opposed to
creating the perfect image. all emotions are good. smiles, sexiness and
lust are obvious expressions that can be captured,
but embarrassment, fear, trepidation, anger
and boredom are just as valid and worthy of being documented.
-Photography can be a great way to channel one's sexual pulsions/desires....do you agree?
most definitely. i've made a career of it.
for
most of my life i've felt that sex is a driving force for everything,
anything, anytime, everywhere. as i decline into middle age, perhaps
that force is becoming less compulsive.
-Your
work is very cinematic, each frame looks like the opening scene of an
(experimental) movie. Are you into moving images as well? can you tell
us more about your experience as a director?
thanks
for noticing. i've always looked at life with a cinematic eye.
one of my favorite sayings is, "that's very cinematic." this comes from
growing up with film & television. i've always been very aware of
the moving image, and the difference of real time, vs a captured
moment. it's a very conscious decision to
create photography with this quality.
i
started with photography, but soon moved into directing, first with
video, then feature films. my first film was a vhs short called
AUTOMOLOVE: the erotic adventures of a boy & his car, (1991),
created for the MIX festival NYC. i then created some garage-style
videos with kinky bondage scenarios called 45 MINUTES OF BONDAGE pts 1
& 2, (1993 & 1995). during 1989 thru 1995 i was also
photographing street hustlers on santa monica blvd in hollywood.
during
our shoots, i would chat with the guys and listen to the stories
about their events of the day. i called these stories "hustler yarns, "
because they would weave these long tales. i was never sure if these
stories were true, but it didn't matter, it was true for them.
i
showed some VHS video footage of these hustlers stories that i called
HUSTLER WHITE to bruce labruce. he suggested we make it into a
feature length film. during spring of 1994 we wrote the script in one
week. then in the summer of 1995 we shot the film in 10 days.
for the lead hustler i cast my longtime friend and model tony
ward. we premiered the finished film at the sundance film
festival during January 1996. i then traveled for 2 years
with the film HUSTLER WHITE and
my accompanying photo exhibition.
the rest as they say is cult film HIS-tory.
i
also directed a doco about the ever growing community who self-identify
as, "furry." furries are people who
likes anthropomorphic, (anything non-human, given
human characteristics) animals, and in some cases see
themselves as part animal.
i
shot raw footage from 1997 thru 200. the doco was titled PLUSHIES
& FURRIES, and eventually aired on MTV on jan 1st, 2002, scoring #2
in the ratings.. this was the first fetish community to be
created online, then move to RT, (real time) and became mainstream. i
say this because if a subject is featured on MTV, vanity fair,
eyewitness news, ER, entourage and CSI, It can hardly be considered,
"underground."
-what would be a dream assignment?
well
i live my dreams everyday thru my fetish art gallery ANTEBELLUM, but if
you want me to further indulge in fantasy it would include a
location in paris, fetish, B&D and high tea with male tea servers
like the one's at mariage freres in the marais. it would be very well paying and an ongoing campaign that i could redesign every season.
-you
recently asked artists ( through Antebellum gallery) to come up with
visuals depicting the idea of " who do you love" a direct response to
PROP8 . How do you feel about PROP8 being upheld couple days ago ?
i
was very proud of my exhibition- PROPOSITION 8: WHO DO YOU LOVE- WHO DO
YOU H8? presented last dec 6th, 2008. the event included a wide range
of artists from photographers jack pierson, and danny nicoletta,
filmmakers- p. david ebersole and todd hughes, actors- guillermo diaz
and sponsors like american apparel, LA weekly and flaunt magazine.
there were non-stop performances and impromptu guest speakers
including georgina beyer- the world's first openly transsexual member
of parliament, who roused the 300 plus strong crowd with
an impassioned speech.
as far as the passing of prop H8, i was pissed-off as i expect any reasonable person should be.
i
could go into the who's, why's, how's that this happened, and do the
blame game, but the big picture is this- the age
of discrimination must end. we will not move forward as a
community, as a state, a country, or as a people until
discrimination ends. it is counter-productive. since i am a true
"hollywood liberal," i will quote another fellow hollywood
liberal-
"At
some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won’t be an issue, and
everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as
George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from
entering the University of Alabama because he was black,”- George Clooney.
-how important is it for an artist to be vocal/political?
for
me it's become impossible to not be political. as an american artist
working with fetish & sex culture i am forced into this position.
only in america would you be expected to self- identify by your
sexuality. once that label sticks, (and it does quickly) you become
judged. i opened ANTEBELLUM gallery with the intention of presenting
fetish as art. because of the scarcity of information about fetish, i
am also forced to be an advocate and educator. there is an extremely
outdated agenda that pits people against their sexual desires.
it's hypocritical and immature. only in america would this be
the norm.
-is a fetish a curse or a blessing?
that's one of the best questions i have ever been asked.
truthfully
it is both. if you go back to the origins of the term fetish, it was to
describe an engery and spirit that was bestowed upon a material item,
like a talisman, gris-gris or idol. fetish can only exist if
the person gives it energy, which we will call belief. if a
person believes they are blessed it is true, if
they believe they are cursed this also is their truth. once
that belief becomes eroticizied, the sky is the limit.
-is Tony Ward the sexiest man alive? ( some of us at CRUSHfanzine think so)
he's
definitely up there. after the past era's of valentino,
gary cooper, james dean, brando, bowie, alain delon and joe
dallesandro, he's the only thing going that is cutting edge. tony
ward is a postmodern sex symbol.
BTW, antebellum gallery features the only TONY WARD TOILET in the world!
the
TWT, (tony ward toilet) is a working toilet which is also a permanent
exhibit at antebellum gallery. the TWT is curated by tony ward
himself, the exhibit changes whenever mr. ward is in the mood to do
so. ALL the images in the TWT are of tony ward
including images by rick castro, jim french, herb ritts, greg gorman,
photographer - tony ward, (the other one), steven miesel, and
self-portraits by mr ward himself, including signed underwear!
everything in the TWT is for sale. i've had people from as
far away as helsinki, finland make pilgrimages here to the TWT.
I'm thinking of installing a rented audio tour so visitors can listen
to a guided tour of the TWT just like they do at other museums. do you
think there would be interest?
-any current crush or obsession?
well you know.. that changes by the week.... it's too soon to tell, but perhaps nicolas wagner.
Queerty Weekend: White Partying, Easter Parade
and Clown Fetish Art
While it might be
Easter, that doesn't mean you have to spend your
days off on your knees, right? Whether your
looking to dance the night away, don a bonnet or
experience the nation's best amputee fetish art,
we've got a way to fill up your date book.
It's Art L.A. weekend in Southern California, but
there's one stop on the cultural cognoscenti tour
that would give even the most jaded tweedy hipster a
jolt. Dubbed "America's only fetish gallery", Rick
Castro's Antebellum Gallery is a far cry from LACMA
or MOCA. This Saturday, the venue hosts the opening
for its latest exhibition, "Clownie * Baby *
Amputee", subtitled, "Three unique fetishes together
at last!" It's $10 to get in, but $5 with a costume.
Does tucking your arm in your sleeve count?
Friday, April 10, 2009
Gallery Clowns Around
With Fetishes
LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash -
FlashNews) – You know what they say about big clown feet.
Los Angeles’ Antebellum
Gallery – the world’s only fetish art gallery – isn’t
clowning around with their latest exhibit Clownie Baby
Amputee, which runs tomorrow (Apr. 11) through May 16.
The show features artwork
dedicated to clown sex, adult babies – people that get off
on dressing and acting like infants – and kinky amputees.
Along with related
paintings, drawings, and collages, the gallery will also
host a live kinky clown performance to get attendees in the
mood.
Though these fetishes may
seem odd or controversial, curator Rick Castro says there’s
an erotic appeal to almost everything and understands why
people would enjoy clown, baby, and amputee sex.
He explains, “There’s a
level of absurdity and humiliation with the clown and adult
babies. With the clowns, maybe it’s the big feet and the red
nose. Amputees have really embraced their sexuality though.
They’re happy, sexy, and limblessly in love!”
Spring springs
in mysterious ways in Los Angeles, no more
so than at
Antebellum, Los Angeles (and the worlds
only) fetish gallery, located in the heart
of Hollywood.
Rick Castro,
Antebellum owner and curator, has a new
exhibit opening this Saturday, as well as
Aprils edition of his programmed movie
series, Fetish Film Fridays, at the Egyptian
Theater, that touches on three fetishes this
time, called
Clownie, Baby, Amputee - Three Unique
Fetishes Together at Last! Prelude to Happiness, at the Egyptian on
Friday night, is a film about an amputee who
gets dumped by her boyfriend and enters into
a torrid relationship with the doctor who
performed the amputation. According to
Castro, its an amputee love affair filmed
like a low budget Douglas Sirk melodrama,
crossed with an even lower budget episode of
As the World Turns with bad acting, bad hair
and more booms in shots than a reality show.
After the screening,
Castro is inviting audience members back to
Antebellum, around the corner from the Egyptian, for
a preview of the exhibit, Clownie, Baby, Amputee.
As an added attraction
before Prelude to Happiness, Castro will also be
screening clips of the exotic dancer Bettie Page,
filmed by Irving Klaw, regarded as the originator of
contemporary fetish film. Ultimately, Page and Klaw
were prosecuted for their efforts and forced to
abandon their collaboration.
Castro, a true fetish
believer, brings a cheery openness and upbeat charm
to the subject of increasingly mainstream
fascination with what were once considered offbeat
sexual pecadillos. His efforts ripple out into the
mainstream, demystifying practices that are really
all about having fun with other consenting adults.
His openings at
Antebellum, as well as the film screenings at the
Egyptian, have become like family gatherings where
everyone catches up with each other, sips wine,
watches an in-gallery performance or demonstration
or two and then heads home to the kids and work the
next day.
Prelude to Happiness -
Friday, April 10th, 7:30 PM, admission $ 10;�
Egyptian Theater 6712 Hollywood Blvd. LA 90028.
Clownie, Baby, Amputee
- opening night, Saturday, April 11th, 7 - 9 PM,
admission $10; Antebellum Gallery 1643 N. Las
Palmas, LA 90028.
Prop 8 battle will continue
into spring -
click here!
Listen to Rick Castro being
interviewed by Canadian Radio,
April 7th, 2008.
“Edgy and
relentless at providing an art exhibition your mother won’t
go to with you, Antebellum Gallery continues to push the
envelope. The only Fine Art Fetish Gallery in the USA, not
only does it provide engaging and arousing art, but also
draws in the best of LA Nightlife personalities. Arrive
early if you’re after the crowd and late if you seek art.”
"In the
absolute heart of the Hollywood scene, Antebellum Gallery,
attracts the wildest characters of LA Nightlife. As the only
Fine Art Fetush Gallery in the USA, they have hosted diverse
and cutting edge shows like Dia de los Mertos Erotica, Black
Erotica, ToonFetish and S&M for Valentine´s day."
“Antebellum
Gallery opened its "S&M: An Exploration of
Sadomasochistic Art" exhibition on Feb. 14. Gallery
owner Rick Castro said he hoped attendees would gain an
appreciation of fetish as art and a better understanding
of the history of S&M and how it has always been a part
of human sexuality.
"What better day to
explore the pleasure of pain than on the day of love?"
he said. "The opening was a smashing success that
would've made De Sade proud."
Castro has several salon
events scheduled at the gallery over the next month.
"All the salons are events
that cater specifically to whatever the theme is,"
Castro explained. "The salons attract specific
enthusiasts of the particular fetish. It's an intimate
[and] enthusiastic group."
NATE JOHNSON- AVN MEDIA
Rick Castro is the curator
and owner of Antebellum Gallery in Hollywood, CA. Dia de
los Muertos !Erotica! was a pioneering exhibit held in
November 2007 presenting erotic interpretations of Dia
de los Muertos. This exhibition was the first to ever
exhibit erotic interpretations of Dia de los Muertos.
The gallery reached out beyond the Latino community,
inviting artists of all backgrounds, nationalities, and
faiths to share their interpretations of this
predominately Latin tradition–sexuality and death–which
some religions have stigmatized, exploited, or viewed
very differently for thousands of years.
4 p.m. A bit of
culture:Antebellum Gallery (1643 North Las Palmas
Avenue; 323-856-0667) features fetish art.
Maura Egan - NY TIMES
MAGAZINE
In a medium-sized photo
that hangs on the wall of Rick Castro’s fetish-art
gallery, Antebellum, a male fist is deeply embedded in a
male ass. From the fister’s still-visible wrist dangles
a chain. Echoing the thought bouncing through my own
head, Castro chuckles, “Wouldn’t that make the best
jewelry ad?”
ERNEST HARDY- LA WEEKLY
Antebellum Gallery claims
to be, “the only fetish art gallery in America”. with
exhibits like The Bondage Show and Evening with a
Ropemaster, we’re not going to argue.
-Leslee Komaiko- Los
Angeles Magazine
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
- LA WEEKLY
Revolutionary Fetishist
Rick Castro explores the
depths of the erotic soul
By Ernest Hardy
In a medium-sized photo that
hangs on the wall of Rick Castro’s fetish-art gallery, Antebellum, a
male fist is deeply embedded in a male ass. From the fister’s
still-visible wrist dangles a chain. Echoing the thought bouncing
through my own head, Castro chuckles, “Wouldn’t that make the best
jewelry ad?”
Rick Castro (“That’s my real name,” he laughs. “A lot of people
think it’s an alias”) was born in Monterey Park at City of Angels
Hospital in 1958. His parents still live in the East L.A. home in
which his mother grew up. Having apprenticed or worked with the
likes of iconic Hollywood photographers George Hurrell and Herb
Ritts and such controversial figures as Joel-Peter Witkin, the
largely self-taught photographer (aside from a few darkroom classes
at Art Center and Santa Monica College) has built an international
reputation for his stark, explicit but oddly reassuring work in
which his own fetishes are explored, and for his encyclopedic
knowledge of fetish subculture and its artists. His first book,
Castro
, a collection of his photographs, was published in 1991. His work and
interviews with Santa Monica Boulevard street hustlers led to a
collaboration with Bruce La Bruce on the film
Hustler White
,
which starred Tony Ward.
On a recent rainy Friday afternoon, Castro served orange tea,
cookies and chocolate as he discussed the differences between porn
and erotica, defined fetish, bemoaned the culture war and praised
his muse — and queer icon — Tony Ward.
Photo by Kevin Scanlon
L.A. WEEKLY:
How do you
define fetish?
RICK CASTRO: I think
it goes very deep into each individual’s soul. When you’re speaking
about somebody’s philosophy on life or his or her moral character,
or his or her opinion of who they are in the real world —
academically, businesswise — that’s great. That’s who somebody is on
many layers. But when you cut to the core of what somebody truly is,
it usually is defined by some kind of erotic or sexual interest.
Fetish is that very, very specific idea and ideal as to what
resonates in that person’s soul erotically.
What’s the
difference between erotica and porn, and where does fetish fit in?
Porn is kind of like Wal-Mart. Or any conglomeration that just kind
of takes over and uses the lowest common denominator; [with them]
it’s really more about the money shot. Erotica can be anything from
tasteful nudes to high-gloss images. But I think fetish is very,
very specific. Fetish goes right to each individual’s idea of
themselves. Erotica is still a little bit general. I think that
we’re past the era of porn. We’re definitely past the era of erotica.
There has to be a new term for what’s going on right now with sexual
imagery.
And what would
you say is going on right now?
Well, the way I see it — and I kind of look at the big picture — so,
say for example we had the sexual revolution in the ’60s and ’70s
that changed things quite a bit. To me, the fetish revolution
started somewhere in the ’90s with people like Fakir Musafar, Bob
Flanagan and numerous other people here and abroad. It started to
push the idea of what sexuality could be, you know, the darker side
of sexuality. I think right now at this very moment we’re at the
height of the fetish revolution and that’s being done the best
through the Internet. Through the Internet you have all these people
who used to be extremely fringe finding each other, finding that
they have like-minded ideas.
What’s your
fetish?
I’m a classic bondage enthusiast. I’m a dinosaur at this point. I
say in my book that the leather man is as all-American as baseball,
apple pie and Chevrolet. Bondage is classic. It’s been around since
the beginning of time. I think it’s a really misunderstood part of
not only human sexuality but also human interaction.
What’s the fascination with Tony Ward?
He’s my muse. That’s all there is to it. I was leafing through a
copy of In Touch magazine in 1984 or ’86 and saw this layout of
Anthony Borden Ward — the best porn name, first of all. And looking
through the pictures, which were not very good pictures . . .
. . . But
they’ve become iconic.
Oh, yeah! Completely. Because they are
so naive. I just remember thinking,
this guy is hot. This guy is better
than this magazine . I was working with
this photographer named Albert Sanchez at the time and we were
shooting for Interview magazine. I showed this layout to Albert and said we
have to use him in a fashion spread and Albert said yeah, call him.
That was all back in, what? ’86? And I’m still photographing him.
Now he’s 42 and has three kids. I’m 47. And I will photograph him
till the day that he or I die. He’s my muse. He’s my boy.
Why the name
Antebellum?
Well, as you know, it’s Latin for “pre–Civil War. I guess when you
think of the name, you think of the South, the whole Southern belle
kind of thing, Gone With the Wind . But I think it’s very appropriate for now because
I really feel that we are in a pre–Civil War period. If not
specifically , at
least intellectually. There’s this huge conflict of how people are
identifying what an American is.
You know, I’m a child of the ’70s and at that time I didn’t realize
how free we were. I took it for granted. I’m extremely shocked that
all these freedoms we took for granted are just being abused and
taken away right and left. I am appalled that Americans are so
immature about sexuality. I’m appalled that there is such hypocrisy
about sexuality, where you can show any kind of violence as long as
you keep the bra on, but there’s no understanding of who we are as
sexual people. There’s a kind of childlike pointing of the finger.
Right here at Antebellum, we have a civil war going on — a cultural
war, a social war.
What do you love about living and working in L.A.?
I’m completely fascinated by Hollywood lore — what’s left of it —
and the whole idea of what once was. The actual core of Los Angeles,
I love — all the original parts of Los Angeles. And I’ve traveled
all over the world, but I’m sorry, the weather in L.A. is the best.
Antebellum Gallery invites you to “sip tea and explore bondage art”
at its Fetish Tea Party, Saturday, May 27, at 5 p.m. The party marks
the end of “The Bondage Show,” an exhibit dedicated to the culture
and practice of erotic and spiritual bondage. 1643 N. Las Palmas Ave.,
Hollywood, 323-856-0667 or www.rickcastro.com.
