Larry Clark and Martine Barrat at MEP

10 octobre 2007 - 6 janvier 2008
Two must-see exhibitions at the Maison Européene de la Photographie, covering America's social undertones of the 70s.

"Tulsa, 1963-1971" by Larry Clark
After having studied at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Larry Clark came back to his birthplace in 1963 where he photographed himself and his friends for a period of eight years. Aged in his twenties, he stated, without any concession, a drift of American youth lost between drugs, sex and violence. In his work entitled "Tulsa," a collection of photographs reveal themselves to be both a private diary, and a rare document recording the trouble and misery of deep America. Published in 1971 by Ralph Gison (Lustrum Press), Tulsa created a scandal in the artistic scene, but remains a work of reference for a considerable number of contemporary photographers. You might recognize Martin Scorsese and Gus Van Sant's inspiration from his work in their films Taxi Driver and Drugstore Cowboy, who then encouraged the artist to make his own film, the noteworthy Kids.

Martine Barrat's "Harlem in My Heart"
In 1968, photographer, filmmaker and director, Martine Barrat left Paris to settle in New York. There she organized a theatre, video, and music workshop with a jazz group from Louis Saint. Her work with the children of the South Bronx and Harlem neighborhoods continued inspire her. From 1973 to 1978, she dedicated her focus on a series of videos documenting different gang members' lives. This series entitled "You do the Crime, you do the Time," was then presented in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and received the prize of best documentary in Milan. In 1977, she began a photographic work on Harlem exhibiting a particularly warm, human outlook on a population often ignored. Her work has been found in the New York Times Magazine, Life, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Paris Match, Le Monde, and Libération.

Maison Européene de la Photographie de la Ville de Paris
5/7 rue de Fourcy
75004 Paris
Metro: Saint Paul or Pont Marie
Open 11am to 8pm, Wednesday through Sunday

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[suzanne]

From I V Y paris contributer Sarah Neel-Smith: Two large-scale documentary projects are hung on the second and third floors, American photographer Larry Clark's “Tulsa, 1963-1971,” and French photographer Martine Barrat's “Harlem in My Heart.” Published in 1971 as a limited edition art book, “Tulsa” struck a chord at the time with its frank portrayal of the drug-fueled antics of a group of teenagers in middle America. Now that this is a more widely acknowledged phenomenon, a contemporary audience is perhaps more attuned to the images' tragic dimension rather than their shock factor: the juxtaposition of a young pregnant woman shooting amphetamines, lit beatifically from behind, with the image of an infant being lowered into a coffin, points to the dangers of a lifestyle which can look deceptively glamorous. Martine Barrat's “Harlem in My Heart,” an extensive series of black and white images of Harlem residents, could easily slip into sentimentality. But Barrat manages to avoid the studied curiosity of a visiting outsider. Photographs show retirees sitting leisurely by the side of the road or taking naps in a barber shop, and youngsters dancing, running, and playing in the street. The portraits capture the feel of a community characterized by a combination of stillness, or even torpor, and a constant underlying dynamism that may be released at any moment.