Tulsa: Larry Clark

Larry Clark – Tulsa
Photobook | First Edition Published 1971 | Lustrum Press

Tulsa is the raw, unflinching debut photobook by Larry Clark, first published in 1971 and now regarded as a landmark in American documentary photography. Shot between 1963 and 1971 in Clark’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the book captures a visceral portrait of youth spiraling into violence, addiction, sex, and aimlessness. But unlike a distant observer, Clark was part of the scene—his lens is as much confession as it is documentation.

Stripped of sentimentality or moral framing, the black-and-white photographs feel urgent, intimate, and disturbingly beautiful. Tulsa wasn’t just a photobook—it was a rupture. It introduced a new kind of autobiographical realism that would go on to influence generations of photographers, filmmakers, and visual storytellers.

Features:

• Stark black-and-white photography in Clark’s signature documentary style

• Uncaptioned imagery presented with cinematic rhythm

• Themes: drug use, youth culture, intimacy, alienation, and the American underbelly

• One of the most influential photobooks of the 20th century

Edition Notes:

• Softcover or Hardcover editions (specify version)

• First published by Lustrum Press, 1971

• Multiple reprints exist (notably by Grove Press and Scalo)

• Approx. 9 x 11.25 inches | 72 pages

• Highly collectible, especially early printings

Tulsa shattered conventions and redefined what photography could be—personal, invasive, and deeply emotional. For collectors of seminal photobooks, underground American culture, or raw realism, Tulsa is essential.