PUPPET FETISH

did you know there was a puppet fetish?..
it's getting bigger all the time.... here's a sample.. more to come.

REMEMBERING HOLLYWOOD

here are two historic pic of hollywood, from back in the day~

MUSSO & FRANKS GRILL~ circa 1919.. still open to this day. considered the oldest resturant in hollywood. my breakfast club and I had breakfast there this morning~ i recommend the flannel cakes!


HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD~ circa 1940~ traveling west to east. las palmas ave is on the left, highland ave is on the top right. musso & franks would be on the lower right.

THE HISTORY OF FETISH

since i do own the only fetish art gallery in the world, (ANTEBELLUM) many people ask me to explain fetish. i thought the best way to approach this~ a topic of vast definition and impossible to fully explain since the concept of fetish changes with society~ was to go directly to the sources that created the first theories of fetish.

it's no coincidence that fetish is becoming mainstream in the 21st century. the time is finally right. what was once vastly misunderstood and deviant is now part of contemporary culture. i like to think that i've had a lot to do with this acceptance within art, ( my photography and antebellum gallery) film, (hustler white, plushies & furries) & fashion, (rickcastro,com) . here's how our historians previously defined fetish-

from websters dictionary-
FETISH- (from the French fétiche; which comes from the Portuguese feitiço; and this in turn from Latin facticius, "artificial" and facere, "to make") is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.

Initially, the concept of fetishism was used by the Portuguese to refer to the objects used in religious cults by the West African natives.
The concept was made known in Europe by Charles de Brosses circa 1757, while comparing West African religion to the magical aspects of Ancient Egyptian religion. Later, Auguste Comte used the concept to apply an evolution theory to religion. In Comte's theory of the evolution of religion, he proposed that fetishism is the earliest (most primitive) stage.
In some forms of Christianity, which is a monotheistic religion, the Holy Cross and consecrated host are examples of fetishism.
In the 19th-20th century, Tylor and McLennan held that the concept of fetishism allowed historians of religion to shift attention from the relationship between people and God to the relationship between people and material objects.

(west african fetish)

alfred binet theory-
Alfred Binet proposed that fetishes be classified as either "spiritual love" or "plastic love". "Spiritual love" occupied the devotion for specific mental phenomena, such as attitudes, social class, or occupational roles; while "plastic love" referred to the devotion exhibited towards material objects such as body parts, textures or shoes.

(alfred binet)

sigmund freud theory-
First described by Sigmund Freud in 1887, sexual fetishism is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object.
A fetish is when a person is sexually aroused by a specific object or objects. What makes a fetish "fetishism" by definition is that it interferes with your life. It's not just something you like to do, or you want to do, but something you have to do. It’s as if there is a compulsion.

(freud's infamous~ therapy couch)

karl marx theory-
"Fetishism" in this context refers to symbolic attribution of power to an object to the point where people believe and act as though the fetish object really has that power, and this power is even regarded as being intrinsic to the object. In reality, that power is not an intrinsic characteristic of the object at all. However, in terms of social behavior, if a sufficient proportion of people act as though the object has the power, then the object can function as if it had that power.
For thousands of years, people already knew or believed that particular objects or activities could cause harm, and that others could have good effects, even although they did not really know why in a "scientific" sense. Consequently these "primitive" people were apt to regard such objects as being ruled by good and evil spirits, or endowed them with magical or supernatural powers, and they devised rules for their appropriate use. Some objects were then treated as sacred or taboo, meaning they could not be touched or used, or that they could be used only under specific conditions, or by authorized people.

(karl marx)

Marx argued that a similar sort of perception arises in market trade, where special powers are attributed to the traded objects and their relationships, to the extent that people believe and act as though those powers are the natural, inherent characteristic of the traded objects and theorize about them in that way. Since social relationships are expressed as the relationships between the things being traded, it begins to look like social characteristics, such as value and exchangeability, are the natural, intrinsic characteristic of the things being exchanged.

(marx's market trade fetish)


(freud's foot fetish)


(binet's material fetish)


(modern day fetish~ combines all theories)

to learn all about the wonderful world of fetish~ visit ANTEBELLUM gallery wednesday thru saturday~ 1~ 7pm, and check out our website~ www.antebellum.us.ms

LIVE PERFORMANCE

(this image & info courtesy~ nic kne)

check out BLOODHOUND GANG, ( Formed in 1992) a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy alternative/punk band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed their genre throughout the years. Their songs typically have humorous and off-beat, satirical lyrics that often deal with sexual subjects and contain many puns and innuendos.
They are best known for their hit singles "Fire Water Burn" and "The Bad Touch".

during mid-2006 they started using a "golden shower" act onstage during a rendition of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence." Ant'nee (one of the band's crew members) also mentioned in one of the Belgium shows, Evil Jared used feces instead of using urine as an alternate.

KINKY CAMERA CLUB ON SUNDAY

(model- norman- photo- steven blank)

all you budding photographers out there... the KINKY CAMERA CLUB for august is coming this sunday with guest host-
STEVEN BLANK and two of his favorite models- NORMAN & RAYMOND.
reserve now for the discount

ANTEBELLUM
presents
KINKY CAMERA CLUB

keeping in the tradition of irving klaw, (who used bettie page as a model), antebellum is proud to recreate the camera club of the 1950s!

KINKY CAMERA CLUB
hosted by special guest artist- STEVEN BLANK

guest models~ NORMAN & RODNEY

(model- raymond- photo- steven blank)

(norman will explore the sports/ jock image, going from athletic gear to sports underwear, jock strap to nude.
Rodney will take us on a journey of kink with a collection of his own latex and leather)

$75 pre paid
$85 @ the door

please join us
AUGUST 29TH- 1PM

ANTEBELLUM
1643 n las palmas ave
hollywood, ca 90028
323 856-0667
www.antebellum.us.ms
antebellum@earthlink.net

TONY WARD IS A 10

check out the newest issue of 10 MAGAZINE from the UK. the entire issue is dedicated to my longtime pal & muse- TONY WARD.
there is also the first, (but not the last) interview with my berlin buddies~
NIC & JOHNNY, creators & designers of TONY-WARD.COM and the graphic artists & webmasters of ANTEBELUM. WOW!
you can check out they're very funny interview here-
file:///Users/antebellum/Desktop/10Magazine.pdf

/Users/antebellum/Desktop/10Magazine.pdf

MINIMAL FASHION

check out these "fashion," pics i shot way back in 2008 @ disney hall in downtown LA.



















photos- RICKCASTRO.COM
clothing- ARCHITECTURAL CLOTHING to order @ ANTEBELLUM
model- SCOTCH BRAND
styling- ASHTON HIROTOA
location- DISNEY HALL

ANGER GOES MAINSTREAM

the future is now.. the most infamous underground/cult filmmaker- KENNETH ANGER has directed a commercial!
this has to be one of the best commercials created so far in the 21st century.

YES, it's true lord anger has created a commercial for the current MISSONI fall 2010 campaign, the sweater queen of italy..
so it's just a matter of time before bruce labruce gets the new campaign for TARGET!

SAD ANNIVERSARY

River Phoenix- would be 40 years old today....

He had charm, charisma and the good looks that can make you a~ "star."
he also had soul, you could read it in his eyes. a young man who knew everything, could tell you everything with his eyes. and he had sorrow... deep, desperate sorrow.

but he was also funny (watch "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" or "I Love You to Death") but more often he was heartbreaking, as in "Running on Empty" or especially, inevitably,
"MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO."

river playing a gay street hustler/heroin addict afflicted with the twin curses of narcolepsy and nostalgia. Now and again he faints away from the former and each time you're shocked because you think of him just a few years later when he fell one last time, in real life, and out of our lives forever except -- like James Dean and Jimi Hendrix and Jean-Michel Basquiat and Heath Ledger -- as a memory and a mere glimpse of what might have been. you feel you knew him, but it was only a movie.

He was born to hippies in Oregon, and he was raised around the country and in Venezuela and had a world of experience in his small frame and seemed able to give body and voice to it with little effort. each time we view him, it breaks our heart.



During the early morning hours of October 31, 1993, Phoenix collapsed outside the viper room on the sunset strip, from a drug overdose of heroin and cocaine (speedball) and began convulsing. his brother Joaquin dialed 9-1-1 and his sister Rain proceeded to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
During the episode, then club owner- Johnny Depp and his band P (featuring Flea and Phoenix's friend Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers) were onstage. According to Haynes the band was in the middle of their song, "Michael Stipe", which includes the line "but we didn't have a part, not a piece of our heart, not Michael, River Phoenix or Flea or me.", while Phoenix was outside the venue having seizures on the sidewalk. When the news filtered through the club, Flea left the stage and rushed outside. Paramedics had arrived on the scene and found Phoenix in a flatline state, and they administered drugs in an attempt to restart his heart. He was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, accompanied by Flea, via an ambulance. Further attempts to resuscitate Phoenix (including the insertion of a pacemaker) were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 1:51 a.m. PST on the morning of October 31, 1993.


The following day the club became a makeshift shrine with fans and mourners leaving flowers, pictures and candles on the sidewalk and graffiti messages on the walls of the venue. A sign was placed in the window that read,

"With much respect and love to River and his family, The Viper Room is temporarily closed. Our heartfelt condolences to all his family, friends and loved ones. He will be missed".

The club remained closed for a week. Depp continued to close the club every year on October 31 until selling his share in 2004.

RIVER PHOENIX~ RIP, 1970-1993

BEAUTY IS AROUND US

check out these watercolors by an amazing artist- JOSE DE JUAN.
jose works with watercolors and oils creating paintings that are contemporary classics.


(antebellum's tea garden)


(the alley garden of las palmas)

be on the look out for JOSE'S first exhibition @ antebellum coming soon!

for more info about the art of jose de juan, please contact~

antebellum@earthlink.net