Larry Clark, Untitled (pregnant woman shooting up), 1963-1971, gelatin silver print, Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
“Once the needle goes in it never comes out” wrote photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark in the preface of his book, Tulsa. In his photography book, Clark depicts youth culture of drug abuse, violence, and sex in the suburbs of his hometown, Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1963 to 1971. The artist’s work is often labeled as disturbing and controversial, described as walking the line between brutally honest documentation and voyeuristic images exploited for shock value. Included in the series is this photograph of a pregnant woman shooting amphetamine. A partially unclothed woman is lit only with the natural sunlight of a window – highlighting her arm, her hand holding the syringe, and the top of her pregnant belly. With hair haphazardly strewn over her face, is the woman gazing at the syringe of amphetamine or her belly? Through the creation of an intimate moment of reflection, Clark documents a new narrative of motherhood. He illustrates the weight of the physical and emotional burden of pregnancy and the possible need to cope. Through this coping, Clark grapples with the tension between addiction and pregnancy, confusing the “typical” image of a pregnant woman.
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