STALK TALK_RICK CASTRO

TONY WARD & HIS BOY- 2006

STALK TALK_RICK CASTRO

-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.

TONY WARD & HIS BOY- 2006

RICK CASTRO- TONY WARD & HIS BOY- 2006

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).

RICK CASTRO- TONY WARD & HIS BOY- 2006

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?" 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN CRUSHFANZINE NYC

RICK CASTRO- TONY WARD & HIS BOY- 2006