Shape Shifter
There is a long tradition of vampiric and lycanthropic lore where unfortunate individuals are transformed into ravenous beasts preying on the flesh and blood of mortal man for their sustenance. Presented here is a similar case of paranormal transformation, that of Propaganda supermodel John Koviak who was the magazine’s most alluring and legendary coverboy. Shape-shifting from a daytime dandy into a nocturnal prince of darkness, he assumed his supernatural persona on any given club night from the late ‘80s to early ‘90s. It was at Helter Skelter, L.A.’s preeminent goth-industrial club, that I discovered him lurking in the shadows on one enchanted evening in August 1989. So smitten was I by his captivating visage that I spent the next four years filming and photographing him in well over a hundred shoots. And like a soul-sucking incubus, he possessed the hearts and minds of the defenseless denizens of Gothdom.
Not only was he uncannily photogenic, but his androgyny and versatility allowed him to assume numerous guises from the angelic to the demonic, and the historical to the theatrical. Gracing the glossy pages of Propaganda Magazine and the flickering electronic image of Propaganda Videozine, he became a household name known to goths the world over. Such was his renown that John once bemoaned the fact that he was recognized wherever he went and could “never just kick back and relax” while he was in public. Like the monsters of the classic horror films, chased by bands of torch and pitchfork wielding villagers, he felt like a hunted animal. However, in his case instead of being dispatched by a stake through the heart or a silver bullet, all his pursuers wanted was to have a little chat and get his autograph. Alas, anonymity and privacy are the sacrificial offerings demanded by the infernal gods of fame.
