MarvCast Photography

Artist Bio:

Marvin Stanley Castro was born in Los Angeles, California. He is of Salvadorian descent and grew up in the central part of the San Fernando Valley, in Van Nuys and later Northridge. Castro started college at California State University of Northridge (CSUN) and joined the exchange program to do a full school year at William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ). In high school Castro was awarded both honors in Art History and was selected to showcase a photo piece in a juried student show at CSUN. Later, he won “Best in Photography” after being selected for the juried student show, Profiles of the Future 2010 at WPUNJ. Marvin Castro’s work delves into concepts of high fashion and fine art portraiture; as well as experimenting with other mediums in contemporary photography. Attending WPUNJ has helped his photographic work flourish, with experiences in a lighting studio, internships, student book publishings, and student art shows. He is currently based in New York, NY, in the process of transitioning from Los Angeles.

Artist Statement:

Through the use of found materials and acquaintances, my photography explores the relationship between high fashion, the commonplace, and an individual’s development of an outer sense of self, an identity then filtered through my lens and, finally, the eyes of those around them. I want my work to have a great sense of imagination brought into reality, where some things lack creativity. In creating these characters, I am taking them from the ideas in my head and then stage, design, and direct them to a physical form; making it real. The work is also about style and how I work with what raw materials I have. I usually don’t have elaborate sets, beautiful designer clothing, budgets for models, etc. and I strive to find ways to make something so ambitious possible.