Eric Kroll was and is an influential artist. He introduced my parents to each other, and is a kind of kinky fairy godfather to me. He was my mom’s boyfriend in Taos and New York City. He turned her on to photography and modelling, and then my dad.  Growing up, his photographs of my family wove themselves into my memory and sense of self. His witty annual valentines day and other holiday photo-cards grace our old family albums.

 

Admittedly he can be a pain in the rear… Kim and I went to a book signing of his in New York many years ago. He wrote to my wife in his new book, “wear leather, dump your husband,” as if that would somehow be a meaningful experience. At other times he came into my life and turned on a light, showed me aspects of myself and challenged me to investigate who I am.

 

When I was 19 I stayed with him in San Francisco. He told me that one day he would move to the desert and live in silence. Many years later he took over a house in a gated community in Tucson and turned it into a museum of infinite wisdom and disgrace. True to form, his collection of art is it’s own world in which you either enter or stay out. There are no pleasantries. The entrance is blocked, and you must tiptoe around art and cactai to get in the house. Instead of a functioning toilette is a growing plant. His bathtub is filled with vintage porn. His oven is a rack for art. He showers at the pool-house across the street. I don’t know where he eats, and can’t quite figure out where he sleeps. His every aspect of domesticity has been replaced with creative vision (or neurotic hoarding), reminiscent of a Kurt Schwitters Merzbilder.

 

 

 

One thing I can say about Eric is that he does not lie. He spins stories, he takes you on wild goose chases, but he never wavers from his path of truth.

I was honored recently, that he asked to interview me. His dear friend Javier Martinez de Pison publishes Dental Tribune Hispanic and Latin America Edition, and often reserves the arts and cultures section for Eric. The photographs for the story were taken when Eric was in town during my 40th birthday.

The interview was conducted in English and translated into Spanish for the publication: