Every week Richard Kern invites us to his L.E.S. apartment where we go through a huge box of archival photographs from his long and checkered career. Today’s featured models are from a film he made in the 80s called The Evil Cameraman.VICE: This is a bit different from the rest. When were you doing this?
Richard Kern: This was 1986 or ‘87, a really old shot. Her name is Susan. It was a still from this movie The Evil Cameraman. I shot the movie right before I got clean – back when I was a drug dealer and all that crap.Here’s another.
This is a Japanese girl called Anne. It was the first time I had hung out with an Asian girl. Back then – I don’t know if this sounds racist or not – but there weren’t Asian people everywhere.There were less Asian people around back then?
Yeah, especially Japanese in New York City. Now – and this sounds racist, it’s not racist though – there are a lot more interracial couples, let’s put it that way. It’s not such a big deal. But back then you never saw it. I mean, maybe a Vietnam vet would come back with his wife from Vietnam, but you didn’t really see – it wasn’t much like that. I hung out with her a lot, I did tons of drugs with her. I sent it to Canada one time, back when I used to distribute my own films. Customs seized it and they launched this secret investigation into me as a child pornographer. They thought she was a kid.How did that pan out?
Well, I’m still around. [laughs]How’d you find out about all of this?
I found out because a friend of mine in Sweden who did a magazine that I contributed to got picked up and questioned in Gothenburg. It’s like, "What? You guys are after me?" I was freaking out. That whole thing prompted me to get model releases and IDs from everybody I shoot.Previously - Randy
Richard Kern: This was 1986 or ‘87, a really old shot. Her name is Susan. It was a still from this movie The Evil Cameraman. I shot the movie right before I got clean – back when I was a drug dealer and all that crap.
Annons
This is a Japanese girl called Anne. It was the first time I had hung out with an Asian girl. Back then – I don’t know if this sounds racist or not – but there weren’t Asian people everywhere.There were less Asian people around back then?
Yeah, especially Japanese in New York City. Now – and this sounds racist, it’s not racist though – there are a lot more interracial couples, let’s put it that way. It’s not such a big deal. But back then you never saw it. I mean, maybe a Vietnam vet would come back with his wife from Vietnam, but you didn’t really see – it wasn’t much like that. I hung out with her a lot, I did tons of drugs with her. I sent it to Canada one time, back when I used to distribute my own films. Customs seized it and they launched this secret investigation into me as a child pornographer. They thought she was a kid.How did that pan out?
Well, I’m still around. [laughs]How’d you find out about all of this?
I found out because a friend of mine in Sweden who did a magazine that I contributed to got picked up and questioned in Gothenburg. It’s like, "What? You guys are after me?" I was freaking out. That whole thing prompted me to get model releases and IDs from everybody I shoot.Previously - Randy