Beginning in 1976, Rivers set out to document the physical and psychological changes of his two adolescent daughters, Gwynne and Emma, as they navigated puberty. Twice a year for five years, he filmed them at his home, often asking them to appear topless or entirely naked. The Outcome of the Project
In the broader context of 1981, Rivers was experiencing a high degree of professional esteem. That same year, a major retrospective of his work traveled through European institutions, including the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover and the Kunsthalle in Berlin. His other 1981 works, such as his cast paper relief Dutch Masters , continued his tradition of blending high art with consumer iconography—a stark contrast to the intensely private and controversial nature of the Growing project.
Growing 1981: Larry Rivers, Controversy, and the Ethics of Artistic Documentation
The project began as a "family documentary." In 1976, Larry Rivers, a pioneering figure in Pop Art, started filming his two daughters, Gwynne and Emma, then aged 11 and 12. For the next five years, he conducted biannual filming sessions, asking the girls to pose topless or naked while he asked detailed questions about their developing bodies, specifically about how their breasts were growing and whether boys had started to notice them. growing 1981 larry rivers
: The work remained largely unexhibited for decades but became the center of a major ethical and legal debate in 2010. Critics and family members have characterized the footage as exploitative, with some even calling it child pornography due to its intrusive nature. Legal and Ethical Resolution
Rivers did not merely take still photographs; he used film to capture the movement, voice, and presence of his daughters. He asked questions and made comments about their changing bodies, particularly focusing on the onset of puberty, with a specific interest in the growth of their breasts.
This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later. Beginning in 1976, Rivers set out to document
In 2010, following the public outcry and legal discussions, NYU returned the films to the Larry Rivers Foundation. The university indicated that the material was not suitable for its collections due to the nature of the content and the lack of consent from the subjects.
Growing is a mixed-media work on canvas, typical of Rivers’ method of combining oil paint, charcoal, and sometimes collage elements. At first glance, the composition is dominated by organic, phallic-like vertical forms that rise from a dark, undulating earth. These forms—reminiscent of stalks, fungi, or even unrolled scrolls of paper—are rendered in muted greens, ochres, and fleshy pinks. The brushwork is loose and gestural, a clear debt to his Abstract Expressionist training under Hans Hofmann. However, unlike a purely abstract painting, Growing contains fractured figurative elements: a disembodied hand reaching upward, a suggestion of a facial profile near the lower right quadrant, and what appears to be a window or frame within the canvas.
The film was the culmination of a five-year project beginning in the mid-1970s. During this time, Rivers filmed his adolescent daughters, Gwynne and Emma, every six months to document their physical development. That same year, a major retrospective of his
The daughters have spent years seeking the return of the footage to ensure it is never made public, while the Foundation initially sought to keep the materials restricted during the daughters' lifetimes rather than destroying them.
He stopped looking at the news and started looking at his windowsill. By turning the mundane into the monumental, he predicted the 1990s return of intimate, figurative painting (Lucian Freud, Alice Neel). He proved that you don't need a history book to make history; you just need a plant, a canvas, and the courage to see yourself in its struggle.
Using film allowed Rivers to document the ephemeral nature of growth, a theme that has long occupied artists, but his approach was intimate, topless, and frequently full-frontal nude. 2. Artistic Intentions: Documentation vs. Exploitation
In 1981, the American artist Larry Rivers completed a 45-minute documentary film titled While Rivers was a celebrated "Godfather of Pop Art" known for his rebellious and innovative style, this specific project remains one of the most controversial and unsettling chapters of his career. The Project’s Origin