Page 5 - Cape-Camera-June-2022

Cape Camera June 2022

Farewell to Arnold Castle

The late Arnold Castle was a dedicated and talented member of CTPS for 48
years. He sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 87 after suffering a heart
attack. However, he and his work will not be forgotten but will be celebrated

in the form of a photographic exhibition - to be held at the South African
Jewish Museum during August and September. His daughter Elana, who

curated the exhibition, has kindly provided us with information about the
show, aptly titled:

The Eternal Scholar - The Portrait Photography of Arnold Castle.

The exhibition brings a
unique perspective to his-
torical Cape Town through
an edited collection of Ar-
nold Castle’s character por-
traits. His photographs gave
a human face to people on
the fringes of society as well
as to recognisable South Af-
ricans whose artistic talents
he admired - from a promi-
nent Flamenco dancer to a
local bass player. In a culture
so obsessed with instant
image production, Arnold’s
work harks back to a time
in photographic history
Arnold with his Hasselblad
where a critical eye and ex-
pert technical know-how were fundamental skills in the art of
image-making. Coupled with his immaculate attention to detail
in both shooting and editing, these images remain as relevant
and intimate as the milieus in which they were captured. Anton on Bass
“In August 2019, my dad suffered his first heart attack. I flew tures by some of the city’s most esteemed photographers. He
straight home from New York to be with him and my family. I asked immediately developed a passion for the medium, setting up
him if I could have a look through his photographic work. I had so a darkroom and portrait studio in his garage. He also became a
many memories of him photographing complete strangers in our member of the Cape Town Photographic Society, where he was
garage. (My mother, who was very supportive of his work, was of- inspired by the work of industry luminaries like Ted Dickinson
ten given the job of first sobering up his ‘models!’) While dusting and Dick Wittington-Jones. By the late 1970s, he was a very ac-
off an old filing cabinet in my parents’ store room, I discovered a tive member of both CTPS and the Venture Camera Club.
very large portfolio of portraits he had taken in the late 70’s and Working primarily with a square format (6x6) Hasselblad, he
80’s, which I found absolutely fascinating. I realized that many had sought out interesting people whom he felt would make com-
never been seen by the general public as my father rarely shared his pelling character studies. He was known to approach local
images to an audience beyond his closest family and friends and to street vendors, newspaper sellers and strangers that he en-
the photographic societies to which he belonged. I was immediate- countered on his regular walks along Sea Point promenade; in
ly struck by their quality and authenticity as well as the meaningful the hope that they would agree to sit for him. On occasion, he
(and sometimes amusing!) narratives behind each shoot, and I felt would shoot his subjects ‘unaltered’; but his style evolved into a
that they needed to be shared. “ -Elana Castle more theatrical approach, where he created character portraits
A lifetime resident of Cape Town, Arnold Castle was considered through the use of props and costuming. He also began to
a master portrait photographer, well-known for his black and study the work of traditional portrait artists like Rembrandt van
white images of South Africans from all walks of life. A self- Rijn, whose control of light and shade was a constant source of
taught hobbyist, he first picked up a camera in the early 1970s. inspiration, as well as contemporary photographers like Yousuf
He enrolled in a course at the Ruth Prowse School of Art, where Karsh and Annie Leibovitz.
he learned the photographic fundamentals and attended lec-

Cape Town Photographic Society 4