September 13 - 27, 2003   Rick Castro Presents FUROTICA: It Ain't Exactly Bambi   Track 16 Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibition Rick Castro Presents--FUROTICA: It Ain't Exactly Bambi. Rick Castro, director of the cult classic Hustler White and the new MTV documentary Plushies & Furries presents photographs and videos that document the underground "furry" lifestyle he experienced during the filming and production of Plushies & Furries. The exhibition runs from September 13 to September 27, 2003, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 13, from 6 to 9 P.M.   What are Furries? They are people who identify with anthropomorphized animals, (animals with human characteristics) in some cases they feel that they are, in fact, part animal. Since the early 1980s, a growing number of people from every walk of life and every part of the world have been introduced to the Furry lifestyle--in large part via the Internet--and now consider themselves "Furry." Furry is not so much a hobby or trend, but rather an identity. Consider this, is being gay only about gay sex? Is it a lifestyle, or does it consist of the complete identity of an individual? The same questions apply here. Furry could be the beginning of a whole new social identity: "transspecies."   The Furry trend has recently been written about in Vanity Fair, London Financial Times, Wired, Marie Claire, Filmmaker Magazine, Blue Magazine, and even appeared in an episode of E.R. Plushies & Furries has screened at the American Cinemathéque, Outfest Los Angeles, Frameline San Francisco, the MIX Festival--NYC, the Milan Film Festival, the Montreal Gay Film Festival, the Seattle Gay Film Festival, and the Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney, as well as airing on MTV and Channel 5 UK.   The exhibition marks the first time that this material has been presented in a mainstream art venue in Los Angeles.   On Friday, September 19, Track 16 Gallery will screen the video, Plushies & Furries. The evening will include a question and answer period with Rick Castro, as well as a slide presentation. Admission is $5, and the event begins at 8 P.M. Rick Castro--delivering fetish to the mainstream. Get ready for a brave new fuzzy world!