Dog Boy
Recently, we had a chance to chat with Rick Castro – photographer and owner of the Antebellum Gallery
Did you always want to be photographer? / How did you get started?
I was working as a fashion stylist/ designer/wardrobe person for about 15 years.. I had/have worked with all the biggies – photographers – Herb Ritts, George Hurrell, and Joel-Peter Witkin. After working in 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.
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 I was initially taken aback, but then embraced.
What attracts you to a model?
Initially, I like someone who has game. who embodies a spirit of, “I’ll try anything once.. or twice, or three times.. it’s all good!” narcissists also make good models.. terrible as friends & lovers, but great models.
How/when did you begin working in the fetish scene? What attracts you to this genre as an artist?
I have always been a part of transgression and subculture. I remember being as young as 8, walking to grammar school with my neighbor. as we passed a picket fence, whatever he was chatting about I blocked out because I fixated on this sharp picket fence and began to envision myself living in a castle with men manacled & shackled throughout the dungeon. i don’t know where this initially came from.. it’s like it was always there.
13 Years of Bondage
As an adult, all along I felt out of sync with the mainstream I had entered within fashion/celebrity industries, but deep down I knew I was a true fetish person, and the mainstream world was manufactured artifice. Around 1986, I decided to start shooting images that I liked that had no commercial appeal. I began to explore fetish and the world was now my oyster. I was drawn to the artistry of fetish.. It was like searching for a fine wine. You could settle for wine in a box- basic porno, or explore the pleasures of Bordeaux’s and Cabernet’s – like the fine art of fetishistic desires. Those 4 years of experimentation became my first book of photographs called- CASTRO, ( published by the Tom of Finland Company – DPR press 1991) now out of print. I have a more recent book called- 13 YEARS OF BONDAGE, (fluxion editions 2004), photos
Tell us about the Antebellum Gallery.
It was my life long dream to open a specifically fetish art gallery and that’s what I finally did on November 11th, 2005. I call ANTEBELLUM, the only fetish art gallery in American, and perhaps the world,” i think this is true for now.. I’m sure there will eventually be a chain of fetish art galleries, the way there are chains of erotic museums.
I curate fetish the me exhibitions about every6 weeks. The openings are a lot of fun.. Costumes are always encouraged. Nudists get in free.
The term antebellum is latin for before-war, and while it commonly refers in America as a pre-civil war, gone-with-the-wind- romantic ideal, I see it’s apropos for the times we are living in with social, moral & economic disparities at odds with each other, ready to blow the lid off it’s foundations at any giving moment,
What was the most unusual exhibit?
Well, they all have their quirks… the current exhibit- *CLOWNIE*BABY*AMPUTEE* is a real litmus test… three unusual fetishes- Coulrophillia, (clown fetish) ABs, (adult babies). AMPs, (amputee fetish) together at last! Separates the men from the boys.
What is one thing that would surprise your followers?
If someone truly is my follower they already know this, but my biggest fetish is TEA, the absolute fetishistic pleasure of a nice cuppa, as in the drinking kind, not getting tea-bagged or tearoom sex.
Do you have a favorite piece?
Fetish - by Rick Castro
You mean in the whole wide world? one I own, or something that I’ve exhibited? It would be a photographic image from Pierre Moliner or f holland day, (something i don’t own, but have viewed and exhibited), or un santo obscuro by Joel-Peter Witkin, ( which is part of my collection)
What new projects are in the works?
Book signing with author Elayne Angel’s new book- THE PIERCING BIBLE, DONKEY DADDY- a retrospective of photographer GREG DAY, FTM: gender dysphoria for the masses!: a group exhibition exploring the images of FTMs, (female to male transsexuals), THE THIN VEIL- group exhibit of images of ghosts, spirits,ectoplasm&melancholy, erotic of course.
If our readers are interested in learning more about you and your work where can they find more info?
Visit- www.rickcastro.com or you can be old fashion and just walk into The Gallery- 1643 N. Las Palmas Ave- Hollywood, CA 90028- Weds thru Sat- 1-7pm
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