Larry Clark

About the Artist

Larry Clarkis a multi-media artist and professor at San Francisco State University. Clark earned an MFA from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television alongside a cohort of African, African-American, Asian, Chicano, and Native American students now known as the “LA Rebellion.” In notably close proximity to the center of mainstream American filmmaking, Clark and his classmates explored alternative approaches to film study and production. 

Clark’s filmmaking and painting pay particular attention to the vitality of black music as an experimental form capable of creating improvisational connections through space and time. As a result, his film Passing Through is considered one of the best jazz films ever made and has been referenced by contemporary black filmmakers who have used the film to explore complex sound-image relations. Additionally, ensembles—both the fictional musical group in Clark’s film and the actual jazz musicians Clark enlisted as collaborators, Horace Tapscott and his Pan-Afrikan People’s Jazz Arkestra—are key to Clark’s political critique. Clark returns to the ensemble, this time in a covert cell of insurgents, in his 1973 film As Above, So Below.  

Select Works

Filmography

Cutting Horse, 2002

Passing Through, 1977

As Above, So Below, 1973

Tamu, 1970

Selected Discussions

The African-American Film Movement LA Rebillion: Charles Burnett and Larry Clark (October 23, 2020)

Passing Through Exhibition History

A story map that visualizes the global exhibition history of Clark’s film, including screening dates and archival images from international film festivals.

Passing Through Visual Dossier

A visual dossier with primary materials from Larry Clark’s papers (courtesy of the artist), including production stills, festival ephemera, and personal photographs.

All images courtesy of the artist and can’t be used without permission.