Tulsa

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A searing glimpse into an underclass world of drugs, guns, and sexual abuse . . . . A harrowing, vivid, and unforgettable document.” –Andy Grundberg, The New York Times On the other hand, how "true" is this image? When Clark was just a kid in 1963, photographing his friends, he could see them as whole people. However, by the time he was completing Tulsa in 1971, he had a preconceived narrative to convey, and his subjects appear as symbols rather than individuals.

Tulsa, Clark's first book, was published in 1971 by Lustrum Press, owned by Ralph Gibson. It has been claimed that thanks to Gene Pitney's 1960 song " Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa", Tulsa then represented "young love and family values"; [3] Clark's book challenged this with scenes of young people having sex, shooting up drugs, and playing with guns. The Eye Mama book is a photographic portfolio showcasing the mama narrative and the mama gaze, what female and non-binary photographers see when they look at, and into the home. Clark’s roots in Tulsa provided the foundation for the images that eventually made him famous. Employed at first in the family portrait business, he left in 1961 to study photography at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He returned to Tulsa after serving from 1964 to 1966 in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, and he began to freelance there and in New York City. These pictures launched both Clark’s career and a new style of photography marked by equal parts intimacy and objectivity. Filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Gus Van Sant cited Clark’s visual influence on their films Taxi Driver, Rumble Fish, and Drugstore Cowboy, respectively.

"The truth is that I’m not trying to shock audiences, I’m just showing the world the way that I’ve lived or seen it."

You started mainlining speed at the age of 15. That’s pretty hardcore. Why did you feel the need to do that?

This exhibition comes with a parental warning (and controlled access) but it also comes with high praise. Filmmakers such as Gus Van Sant and Martin Scorcese were influenced by Clark’s work, and while the subject matter is harsh, the level of artistry is high. Larry Clark is arguably one of the most controversial and influential photographers of the past fifty years. As a former amphetamine addict and convicted felon, his documentary images of sex, violence, and drug abuse are often autobiographical. In exposing aspects of American youth subculture, Clark presents photographs that are at once journalistic and oddly romantic, garnering a mix of sharp criticism and admiration for his discomfiting honesty. WILSON: Right. I grew up in Dallas in the ’70s, where it was really that your parents would open the screen door in the morning and you were gone all day just cruising around on your bike—looking for mischief. I always felt that Charlie Brown did a good job of that, that they never showed the adults, you just hear that “woh-woh” and that’s what it’s like being a kid—you are really removed. And that movie, you guys did a great job with that. As a filmmaker he is best known for Kids, his debut feature from 1995. It launched the careers of Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson, and caused a moral panic with its depiction of a gang of young urban teenagers drinking, drug-taking and having unprotected casual sex. Ebiri, Bilge (November 2018). "Review: 'Marfa Girl 2,' Larry Clark's Sequel to One of His Least-Known Films". The New York Times . Retrieved November 3, 2018.Based on the Eye Mama Project, a photography platform sharing a curated feed by photographers worldwide who identify as mamas, the Eye Mama book brings together more than 150 images to render what is so often invisible―caregiving, mothering, family and the post-motherhood self― visible. Rasmussen N: On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine. New York, New York University Press, 2008 Google Scholar Clark discusses his techniques in the book Darkroom, published in 1977 by Lustrum Press. Referring specifically to Tulsa he says: "I do a lot of burning and dodging when making a print and then use bleach. There's not a straight print in the TULSA book. when I'm photographing I always try to shoot against the light (refers to the cover image from Tulsa entitled 'Dead, 1970'). The film can't handle this and everything gets burned up, since I'm exposing for the shadows." Ebert, Roger. "Bully Movie Review & Film Summary (2001) - Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com . Retrieved July 30, 2018.