While the project was framed as an artistic study of maturation, the lack of privacy and the nature of the parent-child dynamic in a professional filming context raised immediate ethical questions regarding consent and the boundaries of artistic license. 3. Storage and Institutional Response
The discourse surrounding this work has become a significant case study in the ethics of archival preservation. It serves as a point of reference for how institutions must balance the desire to preserve an artist's complete historical record with the legal and moral rights of the individuals depicted in the work. The case ultimately highlighted a shift in the art world toward prioritizing the protection and consent of human subjects over the uninhibited display of controversial material. Share public link
Larry Rivers was a prominent American artist known for his work in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Born in 1923, Rivers gained fame for his unique style that blended elements of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art.
┌───────────────────────────┐ │ Larry Rivers Archive │ └─────────────┬─────────────┘ │ Includes "Growing" │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ NYU Acquisition (2010) │ └─────────────┬─────────────┘ │ Daughters Object │ ▼ ┌────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The Foundation's Stance │ │ The Family's Stance │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────┤ ├─────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ • Protect the artist's historical work │ │ • Emma labels the work as abusive │ │ • Implement tight, lifetime restrictions│ │ • Demands full destruction of footage │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ The Discovery
The project remains a significant point of discussion regarding the responsibilities of artists toward their subjects and the legal protections afforded to children in the context of private and professional filming. Portrait of the Artist as Creep - Glasstire growing 1981 larry rivers
As the demand for 1981 Larry Rivers continues to grow, it's essential to stay informed about market trends, new discoveries, and upcoming exhibitions. With this renewed interest in his work, Larry Rivers is sure to remain a prominent figure in the art world for years to come.
In the contemporary art market, Larry Rivers occupies a stable, blue-chip position. Major institutions—including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Tate Modern—hold significant pieces of his oeuvre.
By the 1980s, Rivers was a celebrated, if controversial, figure. In 1981, his work was the focus of high-profile retrospectives, including a major exhibition at the (July 16 – Sept 20, 1981) and a European retrospective that began at the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany . Yet, even as his painting career peaked, a separate, more troubling project was coming to a close.
Rivers often sought to challenge social boundaries and use his personal life as primary material for his art. While some supporters and art historians view the work as a raw, documentary-style exploration of maturation and a significant artifact of the contemporary art scene, it has faced severe criticism regarding the ethics of parental boundaries and consent. While the project was framed as an artistic
Rivers likely framed this project as a provocative study of human maturation and the domestic sphere, intending to present it as a continuous loop within a gallery setting. He approached the subject matter with the same lack of sentimentality found in his other figurative works.
Journalist Tracy Clark-Flory, writing in Salon, starkly described the footage as including "close-up shots of one daughter's genitals and detailed commentary by Mr. Rivers on the girls' changing bodies". This led to a furious public debate: was this a legitimate artistic exploration of a taboo subject — female adolescence — or was it simply a form of parental exploitation and a violation of trust? For many, the question was clear: a father filming his adolescent daughters' naked bodies for his own artistic purposes was not a sign of progressive thinking but a profound abuse of authority.
When works like Growing were first exhibited in the early 1980s—often through major galleries like the Marlborough Gallery in New York—they sparked intense debate. Critics were forced to reconcile the raw, historical Rivers with this new, slicker, media-savvy iteration. Over the decades, retrospective exhibitions have vindicated this period, framing it as a brave experimentation with postmodernism. Valuation and Market Desirability
The core of the debate surrounding Growing lies in the intention of the artist. The Argument for Art as Documentation It serves as a point of reference for
Exploring these contrasting viewpoints provides a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding the intersection of art, family, and ethics in the late 20th century. Portrait of the Artist as Creep - Glasstire
is a highly controversial 45-minute experimental film created by the prominent American proto-Pop artist Larry Rivers , documenting the physical development and maturation of his two adolescent daughters. Shot over a five-year period from 1976 to 1981, the film remains one of the most polarizing artifacts in modern art history. It forces a difficult conversation regarding the boundaries between artistic expression, parental ethics, and child exploitation. The Production and Context of Growing
It serves as a point of reflection on the ethics of the late 20th-century art world, highlighting the necessity of protecting individuals from potential exploitation, even within the context of creative exploration. The project is now primarily discussed in terms of the ethical responsibilities of artists and the legal frameworks governing the documentation of family life. Share public link
is one of the most controversial and fiercely debated video works in modern American art history. Created by the prominent Pop Art pioneer and Abstract Expressionist figure Larry Rivers, the 45-minute film chronicles the physical maturation of his two adolescent daughters, Emma and Gwynne, over a five-year period. Edited and completed in 1981, the project sat in obscurity for decades until a high-profile archival sale in 2010 thrust it into the center of a national discourse regarding artistic freedom, ethical boundaries, parental exploitation, and the definition of child pornography. The Origin and Production of Growing