PHOTO: Larry Clark at the MAM

Tucked alongside the spectacular Basquiat exhibition at Paris’ Musée d’Art Moderne is this equally powerful retrospective of American photographer Larry Clark. Director of the controversial 1995 film Kids (launching Chloe Sevigny to arthouse fame), Larry Clark’s documentarian photographs take a peek (rather, a voyeuristic stare) into the lives of America’s miscreant youth. Sex, drugs, violence, self-destruction, and an inescapable vulnerability take center stage – all haunted by a youthful sense of listlessness and the telltale lack of purpose that fosters such unbridled vice. Candid and shocking as the photos’ subject matter is (the exhibition has a strict 18-and-over policy), Clark’s work is as much about the photographer himself. The retrospective – entitled Kiss the Past Hello – features over 200 original prints spanning 50 years, as well as a never-before-seen 16mm film.
Until 2 Jan 2011.
Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, 11 av du Président Wilson, 16th. M° Iéna. www.mam.paris.fr/