Larry Clark

Larry Clark makes interesting photographs. I'm enticed by his sense of adventure and the sense of spontaneity that exudes from his photographs. Nearly all his photos look as if they were taken in an unplanned moment. Candid and uncanny, yet intentional and understandable.  Succinct, yet speculative.

The photos themselves reflect the method in which they were created.  Kristine mentioned that Clark did drugs with teenagers and shot them. I don't know the details of this experiment, but the photos are intriguing. I'm not entirely sure what to say about them.

This one is sexual but not pornographic. It's innocent; it reminds me that we have nude bodies beneath our clothes and that is all. There are no attachments or judgments intrinsic to the human form. The subject and the naturalness of the photo coming from several aspects of it evoke this unique feeling inside me.  It's almost nostalgic for a moment that never happened.

I am truly moved by the expression on this boy's face and the seeming genuineness of it. I love the way the light from the window is overblown, yet everything inside the car is clear. Without drawing attention to itself, it creates a focal point and encapsulates a sense of wonder and fantasy. What's beyond the car? is he even inside a car? It's secretively suggestive and provocative.

Also, I can tell that this was a very intentional negative and print. Clark must have done some intense enlarger maneuvering to get this print to look the way he wanted it to look, and I appreciate the effort and the beautiful outcome.

I wanted to include this image because I was just working on a print that involved water droplets on a car window yesterday, so it struck me for that reason especially. I don't know what time of day it is. it looks like it might be night time with intense light coming from outside the car. Maybe it was just before dusk and he printed it darker to get that beautiful tone of grey in the subject's face. Whatever the environment was like, the way Clark went about shooting this environment and printing this negative is harmonious and perfect.  It's dramatic due to the lighting, the sharp focus, an the shallow depth of field.