The birthday boy. (Photos: Tim Pioppo)
As expected, Larry Clark celebrated his 71st birthday at Baby’s All Right on Friday. Considering the free beer and sliders, it was a pretty chill affair. Clark spent most of his time on stage with reVolt, cracking jokes. He did some off-stage mingling as well, but it wasn’t till the end of the night, when he stepped out for a smoke, that the filmmaker got swarmed by admirers wanting selfies with him. We asked some of Clark’s well-wishers how old they were when they first saw Kids, and which of today’s NYC kids are worthy of the legendary photographer’s lens.
JOSHUA HOISINGTON
How old were you when you saw Kids?
Y’know, its funny I saw Kids the first time I made out with a girl, which is why it’s important to me. I saw it in seventh grade. At that point, it was like a summer camp setting. We were at this place called Mystic Lake and the counselors had snuck in this movie Kids, I think it was rated NC-17 at the time, and they played it for us. And it was lovely. Her name was Erica.
Was it awkward when you finished it?
No, I never finished it! … Can I say something important to me about Larry Clark? The year was 2003 and my girlfriend and I had rented a movie called Ken Park. I think it’s about the third scene, when a young man decides to choke himself with a tie, listen to tennis, and jerk off from start to finish. And I can’t remember if before or after, a kid comes home from middle school only to go down on his mother.
And how did that effect you?
It just affected me. And I was just like “Wow. Larry Clark!” And now ever since that day, there will be an exclamation point after his name.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
The band that’s playing tonight, we know because they’ve been rehearsing in our space and sharing our equipment. Some of the nicest dudes you’ve ever met. And I love that Larry Clark has latched onto this skater youth from L.A. But there’s plenty of cool shit happening in New York, just waiting for Larry Clark to recognize!
SARA COPELAND
How old were you when you saw Kids?
16 or 17 maybe? I was definitely in high school.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
Yeah. But I’d say they’re probably more 65 year olds. I think they should make a movie called Senior Citizens. That would make me happy
GABRIEL KUBITZ
How old were you when you saw Kids?
I saw Kids when I was a teenager. Kids (and Larry Clark’s work) left a huge impression on me. Larry Clark is one of the reasons I wanted to get out of my hometown and move to New York. Before that I had never seen seen anyone have that kind of perspective in film. It changed everything for me and it’s why I’m here.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
There are people everywhere doing cool things, but most of them that I know doing cool things today aren’t kids anymore.
SAKI OKI
How old were you when you saw Kids?
I actually saw it… when I was 20? It was shocking and totally different than things I had seen before that. But at the same time, I really liked it. It was just real. Real kids.
LOGAN BALDWIN
How old were you when you saw Kids?
I was like 15. A teenager, proper. And to me, well, I grew up in Kentucky. It was a little too… real? It was shot realistically, it was very grimy, very New York. I just remember being a little disturbed by it. This was before the Internet was super duper thing. So a lot of the images, a lot of the graphic scenes… they were just shocking. Of course, since then, I’ve seen the worst things in the world on the Internet, but I feel like Kids came out before the Internet had completely warped out poor little minds. I feel like Larry Clark captured a little part of that before the Internet did.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
Not off the top of my head. The people that are doing kickass things are — adults. They’ve found their voice and honed it in… but there’s a lot of awesome kids out here in all these neighborhoods doing amazing things; I’m just not hip to it.
MEREDITH MEYER
How old were you when you saw Kids?
I saw kids in 1997, after it had come out. When I saw it, it was pretty influential to me because I was kind of a club kid at the time, in my younger and wilder days. I was living with my then DJ boyfriend at the time and we were throwing underground warehouse parties in different cities across America. And when I saw Kids, it kind of hit me as “what not to do.” A cautionary tale of what was sort of happening to me that I didn’t want to fully happen any further.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
I grew up in Oklahoma, where Larry Clark is from, and at the time when I was a teenager, there wasn’t a whole lot going on. There would be maybe one or two things to do that weekend that were like “the things to do.” And you’d go to those things because they were the only things going on, especially if you were underage. And because there wasn’t a whole lot going on, everyone got creative and made our own fun. I feel sorry for kids these days because of the Internet and that a lot of their lives are lived digitally, and we didn’t have that. We’d just get together in a basement and do things hands on. It’s a whole new type of darkness and its very isolating and I think there’s a lot of kids that are lost these days.
BRANDON WHITE
How old were you when you saw Kids?
Oh god, I was like 13 or something. It was cool because I never thought about New York City at all, ever. Other than the Muppets movie or some shit, it was my first impression of New York. It was really intense to me, seeing it as a wee lad. And how shitty some of the characters were. I was such an impressionable kid. I never even thought about that; it was eye opening. I hadn’t seen that many movies that were that realistic. And for some reason, I remember them shoplifting 40s. I really remember that well. I never shoplifted a 40 but I used to steal those tall Heinekens. We’d go to the Circle K and just try to walk out with a big bulge in our backs. I didn’t’ have the gumption or baggy skater jeans to pull off a 40.
JUN KATO OHKI
How old were you when you saw Kids?
Kids came out in 95? So I was 24. I loved it. It totally blew my mind and I fell in love with it. It was that New York lowness, I think.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
I’m a filmmaker, and I’ve gotten to work with Larry, and with Jim Jarmusch, etc. And those are really the people that inspire me.
ELIZABETH MANN
How old were you when you saw Kids?
I was 15. I was born and raised in New York so I guess I was supposed to identify with it more than I did. But it certainly had an impact. I guess I was slightly horrified. I was going out and I thought I was “bad,” but then I said, “I must just be small time, or living in a completely different reality than what’s going on right here.” And I thought, maybe as I get older and mature it’ll be less horrifying to me. But it kept its grit, despite my getting older. And that’s why it’s still great.
Are there any kids out there today that are worthy of Larry Clark?
My own children! I’ve got a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old. And the shit they say cracks me up every day.
