Paris Restricts Access to Larry Clark Exhibit

Paris City Hall has come under fire for barring minors from the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris exhibit, Kiss the Past Hello, by U.S. photographer Larry Clark, a show that includes sexually explicit shots of teenagers. The mayor’s office has expressed fears about legal challenges if it lets minors into the exhibit. Artists and historians well know that Clark is also the filmmaker of the 1995 film Kids.

According to the Globe and Mail, France has a “law [which] forbids showing pornographic images to minors under 18 and is punishable with up to 3 years in prison and a fine of $104,760.”

Clark called the move “ridiculous” in an interview published Thursday. “I see this as an attack on youth, on teenagers,” he was quoted as telling Liberation newspaper. “These photos are for them.”

Libération has more on this story (in French).