Growing 1981 Larry Rivers [ 2025 ]

"Growing" (1981) is an experimental video project by artist Larry Rivers documenting his daughters from childhood to their mid-teens, which became the subject of intense ethical and legal controversy due to its content [1]. Following attempts to sell the tapes, the artist's daughter, Emma Tamburlini, publicly denounced the work as exploitative and sought its destruction, leading to its refusal by NYU [1]. The case is widely cited in debates concerning the boundaries of transgressive art and the protection of minors, according to reports from the New York Times and Vanity Fair.

• "Drawings": A series of drawings that showcased Rivers' skill in capturing the human form and exploring themes of identity and culture.
• "The Drawing and the Image": A body of work that highlighted Rivers' interest in the relationship between drawing and image-making.

Text and Graffiti: Rivers was a poet as much as a painter. Scrawled across the lower right quadrant, in his infamous, jittery handwriting, are lines of verse. They read: "Growing / is the mistake / the body keeps making / until it stops." This dark, elegiac text reframes the entire painting. Growing is not a miracle; it is an accumulation of errors—wrinkles, scars, fat, memory. growing 1981 larry rivers

Artistic Boundary-Pushing: Within the art world, the work is often analyzed as an example of a creator pushing past traditional social boundaries to document the human condition. "Growing" (1981) is an experimental video project by

The title, Growing, operates on multiple levels. Literally, it depicts biological growth. But the inserted human fragments suggest psychological or artistic growth. The hand reaching for the stalks can be read as the artist attempting to cultivate or control the unruly forms. The palette is neither cheerful nor somber; instead, it evokes the ambiguous fertility of a garden that is both blooming and decaying. "Drawings" : A series of drawings that showcased

Family Documentation: The film focuses on the daily lives of Rivers' two daughters, Gwynne and Emma, during their adolescent years.

Rivers rejected the digital future (the early 80s saw the rise of the PC and early digital art). He insisted on the hand. In Growing, the hand is shaky, insistent, and sometimes ugly. That ugliness is the truth.