In 2013, the artist, skateboarder, and OC friend Leo Fitzpatrick received the following e-mail from filmmaker Larry Clark, who directed Kids, the 1995 film that catapulted Leo into 90s cult fame:
"hey leo,
so i turned 70 January 19 and felt this freedom... i could and would do anything i wanted to do which is pretty much how i've always lived my life but this felt different.... i woke up liking myself and happy...
then i had a near death experience and realized i literally had thousands of original unique one of a kind first printing of all my work laying about the loft and what would happen to these 4x6 and 5x7 color prints?so i have decided to sell them for a hundred dollars a piece to all the kids that come to my shows in thousands and could never afford 10 to 15 thousand dollars for a print so this is a pay back to all the skate rats and collectors who would like a suvenier so i can die happy.the show will be up one week threw [sic] january 10th at [Leo's] home alone 2 gallery 208 forsyth st. nyc, ny 10002
larry clark"
I went to check out the show at Home Alone 2 gallery with Matthew Frost, who is friends with Leo and knows Larry from co-writing the 2005 film Wassup Rockers. There, we met Leo and reminisced a little about their days shooting with Larry. Read the conversation below, and be sure to stop by the show before it closes on January 10th.
Photos by Matthew Frost
Matthew Frost: [Back when we were filming the Wassup Rockers kids skateboarding] Larry used to say, "We’re gonna go down and hang out [with the kids], and always have a camera or a videocamera." So I would have two cameras, and he would have two or three––always loaded. When we interacted with the kids, he was always shooting, and they would get used to him and the camera. He’d be hanging out but always taking pictures. And that’s how he got all of those photos.
Leo Fitzpatrick: Larry took all of these between 1992 and 2010. He was shooting teenagers all the time for his movie projects. Basically you just dig into this crate and it's up to you to find the good ones. He took so many pictures of kids skateboarding.
And they were so much younger than him!
When Larry was making Kids he was 50, and I think he broke his elbow skateboarding. He would skate with all these kids even though he wasn't a skater, but he knew that if he really wanted to document it, he would have to get in there and actually skate and gain these guys' trust.
In his head, he is still a 16-year-old kid.
Yeah! Today he came in wearing a skateboard T-shirt.
Usually at a certain age you decide what your haircut is, and then that’s it, that’s your vibe. But the variety of haircuts he's had throughout the years is phenomenal––from dreads to bleach blond. Just like a teenager. He is not settling down at all.
Most people decide, okay, I'm wearing suit from now on. Or, I’m an adult––I'm gonna wear a rolex and a suit. Larry just went the opposite way. He said, hey, from now on, I’m a teenager.
Through January 10th, 2014 | Be sure to also check out Leo's new show, Poem Paintings, at Eneas Capalbo gallery![]()
"hey leo,
so i turned 70 January 19 and felt this freedom... i could and would do anything i wanted to do which is pretty much how i've always lived my life but this felt different.... i woke up liking myself and happy...
then i had a near death experience and realized i literally had thousands of original unique one of a kind first printing of all my work laying about the loft and what would happen to these 4x6 and 5x7 color prints?so i have decided to sell them for a hundred dollars a piece to all the kids that come to my shows in thousands and could never afford 10 to 15 thousand dollars for a print so this is a pay back to all the skate rats and collectors who would like a suvenier so i can die happy.the show will be up one week threw [sic] january 10th at [Leo's] home alone 2 gallery 208 forsyth st. nyc, ny 10002
larry clark"
I went to check out the show at Home Alone 2 gallery with Matthew Frost, who is friends with Leo and knows Larry from co-writing the 2005 film Wassup Rockers. There, we met Leo and reminisced a little about their days shooting with Larry. Read the conversation below, and be sure to stop by the show before it closes on January 10th.
Photos by Matthew Frost
Matthew Frost: [Back when we were filming the Wassup Rockers kids skateboarding] Larry used to say, "We’re gonna go down and hang out [with the kids], and always have a camera or a videocamera." So I would have two cameras, and he would have two or three––always loaded. When we interacted with the kids, he was always shooting, and they would get used to him and the camera. He’d be hanging out but always taking pictures. And that’s how he got all of those photos.
Leo Fitzpatrick: Larry took all of these between 1992 and 2010. He was shooting teenagers all the time for his movie projects. Basically you just dig into this crate and it's up to you to find the good ones. He took so many pictures of kids skateboarding.
And they were so much younger than him!
When Larry was making Kids he was 50, and I think he broke his elbow skateboarding. He would skate with all these kids even though he wasn't a skater, but he knew that if he really wanted to document it, he would have to get in there and actually skate and gain these guys' trust.
In his head, he is still a 16-year-old kid.
Yeah! Today he came in wearing a skateboard T-shirt.
Usually at a certain age you decide what your haircut is, and then that’s it, that’s your vibe. But the variety of haircuts he's had throughout the years is phenomenal––from dreads to bleach blond. Just like a teenager. He is not settling down at all.
Most people decide, okay, I'm wearing suit from now on. Or, I’m an adult––I'm gonna wear a rolex and a suit. Larry just went the opposite way. He said, hey, from now on, I’m a teenager.
Through January 10th, 2014 | Be sure to also check out Leo's new show, Poem Paintings, at Eneas Capalbo gallery
