Lawrence Donald Clark(born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen filmKids(1995) and his photography bookTulsa(1971). His work focuses primarily on youth who casually engage in illegal drug use, underage sex, and violence, and who are part of a specificsubculture,such assurfing,punk rock,orskateboarding.
Larry Clark | |
|---|---|
 Larry Clark in 2013 at theDeauville American Film Festival | |
| Born | Lawrence Donald Clark January 19, 1943 |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Children | 3[1] |
Early life
editClark was born inTulsa, Oklahoma.He learned photography at an early age. His mother was an itinerant baby photographer, and he was enlisted in the family business from the age of 14.[2]His father was a traveling sales manager for the Reader Service Bureau, selling books and magazines door-to-door, and was rarely home.[3]In 1959, Clark began injectingamphetamineswith his friends.[4]
Clark attended theLayton School of ArtinMilwaukee, Wisconsin,where he studied underWalter ShefferandGerhard Bakker.
Career
editIn 1964, he moved to New York City to freelance, but wasdraftedwithin two months into theUnited States Army.From 1964 to 1965, he served in theVietnam Warin a unit that supplied ammunition to units fighting in the north. His experiences there led him to publish the 1971 bookTulsa,a photo documentary illustrating his young friends' drug use in black and white.
Routinely carrying a camera, from 1963 to 1971 Clark produced pictures of his drug-shooting coterie that have been described by critics as "exposing the reality of American suburban life at the fringe and... shattering long-held mythical conventions that drugs and violence were an experience solely indicative of the urban landscape."[5]
His follow-up wasTeenage Lust(1983), an "autobiography" of his teen past through the images of others. It included his family photos, more teenage drug use, graphic pictures of teenage sexual activity, and young malehustlersinTimes Square,New York City. Clark constructed a photographic essay titled "The Perfect Childhood" that examined the effect of media in youth culture. His photographs are part of public collections at several art museums including theWhitney Museum of American Art,Museum of Photographic Arts,and theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston.
In 1993, Clark directedChris Isaak's music video "Solitary Man".This experience developed into an interest in film direction.[6]After publishing other photographic collections, Clark metHarmony Korinein New York City and asked Korine to write the screenplay for his first feature filmKids,which was released to controversy and mixed critical reception in 1995.[7]Clark continued directing, filming a handful of additional independent feature films in the several years after this.
In 2001, Clark shot three features —Bully,Ken ParkandTeenage Caveman— over a span of nine months. As of 2017, they are his last films to feature professional actors.[8]
In 2002, Clark spent several hours in a police cell after punching and trying to strangle Hamish McAlpine, the head of Metro Tartan, the UK distributor forKen Park.According to McAlpine, who was left with a broken nose, the incident arose from an argument about Israel and the Middle East, and he claims that he did not provoke Clark.[9]
In a 2016 interview, Clark discussed his lifelong struggle with drug abuse, although stating he maintained total sobriety while filmmaking. He confessed that the only exception made to his practice of abstinence while filming wasMarfa Girl.Clark explained that while filming that movie he used opiates for pain due to double knee replacement surgery.[3]
Films
editKids
editInKids(1995), his most widely known film, boys portrayed as being as young as 12 are shown to be casually drinking alcohol and using other drugs. The film received anNC-17rating,[10]and was later released without a rating when Disney bought Miramax.
Other work
editKen Parkis a more sexually and violently graphic film thanKids,including a scene ofauto-erotic asphyxiationandejaculationby an emotionally rattled high-school boy (portrayed byJames Ransone,then in his early 20s).
In Australia,Ken Parkwas banned for its graphic sexual content and a protest screening held in response was immediately shut down by the police. Australian film criticMargaret Pomeranz,co-host ofAt the Movies,was almost arrested for screening the film at a hall.[11][12]The film was not released in the United States, but Clark says that it was because of the producer's failure to get releases for the music used.[13]
In 2015, Clark collaborated alongside notable skateboard and clothing brand,Supreme,to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofKidswith a collection of decks, T-shirts, and sweatshirts that feature stills from the iconic film. The collection was released on May 21, 2015, in Supreme's New York, Los Angeles, and London locations and on May 23 in its Japan location.[14]
Clark has won the top prizes at theCognac Festival du Film Policier(forAnother Day in Paradise), theStockholm Film Festival(forBully) and theRome Film Festival(forMarfa Girl). He has also competed for theGolden Palm(Kids) andGolden Lion(Bully).
Filmography
edit- Kids(1995)
- Another Day in Paradise(1998)
- Bully(2001)
- Teenage Caveman(2002, television film)
- Ken Park(2002, co-directed withEdward Lachman)
- Wassup Rockers(2005)
- Destricted(2006, segment "Impaled" )
- Marfa Girl(2012)
- The Smell of Us(2014, French)
- Marfa Girl 2(2018)[15]
References
edit- ^"Larry Clark".March 28, 2012.
- ^"Larry Clark at International Center of Photography".www.icp.org.RetrievedDecember 31,2016.
- ^ab"WTF Podcast #749, Larry Clark".WTF Podcast.Marc Maron. October 10, 2016.RetrievedOctober 11,2016.
- ^"Broadcast Yourself".YouTube. Archived fromthe originalon April 29, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 22,2010.
- ^"PAVEMENT MAGAZINE - Larry Clark".August 3, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon August 3, 2002.RetrievedJuly 30,2018.
- ^"Larry Clark Switches Wild Child for 'Savage Innocent'".Ioncinema.com.RetrievedSeptember 22,2010.
- ^"Larry Clark – Kids. A Film by Larry Clark".Schaden.com.RetrievedSeptember 22,2010.
- ^"Harmony-Korine.com - Interviews/Articles: Larry Clark".harmony-korine.com.RetrievedJuly 30,2018.
- ^Hoggard, Liz (November 17, 2002)."Hamish McAlpine: controversial film boss".the Guardian.RetrievedJuly 30,2018.
- ^Travis Crawford."Interview to Larry Clark on Bully".Moviemaker.No. 43.
- ^"Ken Park ban 'sadly archaic'".theage.com.au. July 4, 2003.RetrievedSeptember 22,2010.
- ^"theage.com.au".The Age. July 4, 2003.RetrievedSeptember 22,2010.
- ^"The Never Interview: Larry Clark".Never. September 20, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon December 27, 2013.
- ^"Supreme Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of 'Kids' With a Special Collection Dropping This Week".Complex.
- ^Ebiri, Bilge (November 2018)."Review: 'Marfa Girl 2,' Larry Clark's Sequel to One of His Least-Known Films".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 3,2018.