"OFF LAS PALMAS AVE, along~ but on the opposite side of~ the out~door newsstand~ where professional existentialists with or without sandals, leaf through a paperback book, and the fairies cruise each other by the physique books, while the lady from say, iowa, ( who will sign ahhhhhh as the premiere searchlights screw the sky), here to attend a PTA convention at the biltmore, buys a movie book~
off las palmas, on Saturday nights especially, the old man graduate of Pershing Square writes bible inscriptions on the street; in chalk, neat incredibly beautiful letters. the young high school delinquents with flattops proclaiming their youth heckle him cruelly in merciless teenage fashion while he dashes out with his prophecies of not~ unlikely doom; the booming words like the music-less theme of the street...... the fairies, half listening momentarily to his shouting threats of imminent judgement, (while surveying the crowd for someone cute), cross the street on their way, perhaps to the green bar, (where Miss Ana Mae~ in continental surroundings~ will drown those echoing threats as she plays her organ coyly), and they may say bitchily about the judging prophet; "my dear! isn't she too much?~ she should get a man and settle down"~ and swish on giggling~hoping for a man to settle down with~ wondering nervously does tonight's sex nervousness show beneath the giggles (and this can easily ruin a girl), and will they make it tonight, and if so, will it be someone nice and early please god so they won't have to add to~
THE SHADOWS OF SELMA AVENUE." JOHN RECHY~ CITY OF NIGHT~ 1963
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. 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 foundation- 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?"
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