A Larry Clark Controversy Erupts in France

Kiss the Past Hello, the much-awaited Larry Clark retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, doesn’t open until October 8, but it’s already causing controversy. The museum’s director has decided to forbid entry to visitors under the age of 18, fearing that a 2007 child-protection law might lead to the show’s closure. Naturally, Clark expressed astonishment at the news, saying he thought “France was more liberal than the United States.” We haven’t seen a complete preview of the show yet, but given the director-photographer’s past depictions of sex, drug and violence among minors—remember the movie Kids, or his scandalous 1971 photography book Tulsa?—showing such images indeed might be disturbing to some viewers. 

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