Documenting a Maverick: "Growing Up" (1981) and the Legacy of Larry Rivers
As of January 2025, Growing is finally available for and purchase ($12.99) on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. This is the safest "updated download" option. The file is 1080p, H.264, with closed captions.
Platforms like Kanopy (often free through libraries) or Artforum's video resources sometimes host archival artist documentaries.
By 1981, Rivers was an established, controversial titan of the New York art scene. He was deeply embedded in the collaborative worlds of poetry, jazz, and underground filmmaking, making him a prime subject for candid, experimental documentaries. The 1981 Documentary: Growing documentary growing 1981 larry rivers download updated
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The documentary Growing was conceived not just as a standard biographical film, but as an active, living collaboration. Directed by Joanna Demetrakas—known for her insightful documentaries on art and artists—the film captures Rivers alongside his family, particularly focusing on his relationships with his sons, Steven and Joseph, and his ex-wife, Augusta.
The documentary is a controversial film by American artist Larry Rivers that has sparked intense debate over the boundaries between avant-garde art and child safety. Rivers filmed his daughters, Gwynne and Emma, at six-month intervals from 1976 to 1981, documenting their physical development through footage where they were often nude or topless. Overview of Larry Rivers' "Growing" Documenting a Maverick: "Growing Up" (1981) and the
For those interested in this intersection of art, ethics, and family, the best current resource is the 2023 documentary "Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World." It offers a modern, thoughtful reflection on the case, and it serves as a poignant reminder that in the information age, not everything should be made available for download.
: When the contents of Growing became public knowledge in 2010, it sparked a major ethical debate regarding the line between "art" and child exploitation.
The project was a deeply personal one for Rivers, who was a pivotal figure in American art, often referred to as the "Godfather of Pop Art." He was a painter, sculptor, jazz musician, and filmmaker who reveled in shattering societal taboos. His work bridged the gap between the gestural abstraction of the New York School and the commercial iconography of the Pop Art movement that followed. Platforms like Kanopy (often free through libraries) or
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The film is highly regarded in academic circles for its boundary-pushing approach to autobiography. It strips away the polished veneer of traditional family portraiture, opting instead for a gritty, real-time exploration of aging and familial tension. Because of its avant-garde nature, it was never distributed through major commercial channels, making it a rare artifact today. Finding and Downloading "Growing" (1981): Updated Status
The search keyword references one of the most controversial, unreleased art projects in American history. Created by the influential proto-Pop artist Larry Rivers, Growing (1981) is a 45-minute documentary film compiled from home video footage that captured the physical development of his adolescent daughters. Decades after its creation, the film became the center of an intense legal and ethical battle regarding institutional archiving, the limits of artistic freedom, and child exploitation.