Larry Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in January 1963. By the age of 16 he was shooting up valo, a form of amphetamine, on a daily basis all through high school. After he graduated high school he left Tulsa to study art and photography. His series called Tulsa documents the long love affair he had with the drug and it's lifestyle. Through his black and white photos he portrays the extreme high and low moments during this time period. Each photo is a detailed narrative that intrigues the viewer to want to know more. Some of the other photos in this series are so extreme and so raw that there is no way that it could be reality but it is.
I was fortunate to view these photos in person this week and that is why I chose to write about this series for my post. My reaction to his photos was shock, intrigue, and at times uneasy. It made me question the moments leading up to that photograph and also the moments after. A lot of the photos were so shocking that I could only spend a short time looking at it. Then I would go back to the photo and repeat the process. The photos will be on view soon at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, and it is definitely a series that students should see.
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