punk Picasso
Larry Clark
Larry Clark’s opus punk Picasso — whose title references David Denby’s review of Bully: “as the camera wanders-grazes-among naked thighs and tattooed torsos, this punk Picasso combines the multiple desires of lover, artist and voyeur” — displays in scrapbook format a loose chronological overview of the celebrated artist’s provocative career.
The material presented ranges from family snapshots (his American Indian great grandfather, his father playing golf, a portrait of his mother as a professional photographer with Rollei and flash in hand, Clark with his son’s soccer team); unpublished images from Tulsa and 42nd St.; photographs from the set of his first film Kids and his new film Ken Park; clippings from reviews of exhibitions and films; correspondence; transcribed stories; Roger Maris ephemera; portraits of skateboarders; River Phoenix (images appropriated from Teen Magazines); Clark’s lover Tiffany and their dog Snappy; “Page Six” from the New York Post headlining: “Larry Clark stands up for U.S.”; and reproductions of phonograph records that act as soundtrack to the visual narrative.
punk Picasso gathers together scraps of evidence that chart the life of the artist and his creations, which in Clark’s case, are inseparably entwined.
PPP Editions, 2003
Limited edition: 1,000 copies, signed and numbered.
Deluxe edition: Ten copies issued with added ephemera, a unique black-and-white unpublished photograph from the early Tulsa years, a CD containing music from the records illustrated in the book, housed in a specially made wooden box.
8-1/2 × 11 inches; 496 pages; color and black-and-white reproductions; illustrated wrappers, slipcased.
