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.
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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.