International Fusion ArtSteam
International Fusion ArtSteam
http://www.robertcarrithers.com
Based in Prague, Czech Republic, Robert Carrithers is a curator, photographer, writer, video artist, filmmaker, silkscreen artist and painter specializing in revealing portraits of underground culture and unique personalities. He has exhibited widely - nationally and internationally. His work investigates the edges of society and does his best to break social taboos and barriers with his work. Recurrent themes include: underground culture, eroticism and sexuality, working with the fantasies of his subjects and revealing the various layers of the personalities that he works with. Essentially, the work explores the magic and forbidden hidden worlds of the special people that he chooses to photograph or film. The work often draws the viewer into an uncertain world where truth and imagination come into conflict.
Robert has been cooperating with the Fusion Artist Shalom Neuman from the early '80s in New York City and had participated in many of his projects in various countries.
Robert Carrithers first started to work with photography when he went to New York as a young man with dreams of becoming an actor. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, but that did not last long. He found himself in the midst of one of the most exciting times in the history of New York City. It was the 1980s!
He describes his feelings; “We were not in competition because we were having too much fun with living life to the fullest and doing what we loved with our creativity! Acting school? Forget that! These clubs, wild nights and the streets of New York were my school. I was hungry for the experience and knowledge that it all offered. I knew I was in the middle of something truly special!
I picked up my camera and did my best to capture the unique personalities that were involved in these scenes. This forever changed me and formed who I am today. I have carried this through my life up to the present time. You were either there or you were not.” He worked with portraits of the people he has found interesting in the various scenes that he explored at the time. He worked with artists in New York such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and performers such as Ann Magnuson, John Sex, Wendy Wild and Klaus Nomi.
Since then, Robert Carrithers has travelled the world, making portraits of people he finds special. He has lived in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Berlin. He is currently based in Prague. Wherever he goes. He always finds a creative community peopled with unique individuals living on the edge of society, striving to survive and express themselves creatively. “I seek out these people and do my best to capture them in photographs and to work with them in some way.”
His photographs, art and writing reveal the personality and creativity of the artists he meets who he calls the living angels who offer themselves in the name of creativity.