Larry Richard Stark (b. December 24th, 1940-April 21, 2024)

 

Larry Stark was an American photographer, printmaker, and conceptual artist. Stark was born in Benton Harbor, MI, in 1940 to Noneen McCosh and Richard Stark; he graduated from Saint Joseph, Michigan High School in 1959; in 1961 he married Barbara Benson; his formal education included two years at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and a BA in Photography from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

 

In 1965, after the birth of their first two sons, Larry and Barb moved to San Francisco. Stark was intrigued with travel, fishing, food, the work of photographer Edward Weston, and mostly the idea of having a steady job. With full support from Barb and a motto “in by 10, art by 5”, Larry started his passionate printmaking career.  Larry personally represented his art by making connections with gallery owners, museum collections, and art buyers. He took many road trips across the country to service his art distribution network, all the while capturing the American landscape and social infrastructure. He would oftentimes travel with his friends, family, and hitchhikers he picked up along the way. During these travels he created many of his conceptual art projects which became the spine of these trips. Through his travels across the country Stark observed the corporatization of America happening before his eyes; convenience chains placed at the entrance points of major cities appearing as monolithic ideals imagined by and for the benefit of corporations. In the beginning of his travels and in years to come, there were many creative and social movements unfolding as a stance of civil unrest around the Vietnam War, Kent State, and the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr.  In his travel journal (c. 1970) titled "In The Merry Month of May Larry Crossed The USA Ate McDonald’s All The Way Tells His Story Day By Day", Larry refers to “freaks” as a term of endearment and included himself among the multitudes of non-conformists who refused to accept the status quo and social norms being projected at that time. Stark’s perspective of both the art market and America broadened over the years. Stark worked relentlessly in and out of the studio to the accompaniment of very loud jazz, rock, classical, and avant-garde music.

 

Stark’s art was rooted in the documentary tradition and expanded upon in his print studio through high contrast, often large scaled, hand-pulled serigraphs [photographic silkscreen prints] employing signature half-tone patterns and spot colors, thus broadening photography’s vocabulary. This was his legacy. In 1970, Larry's art was cited by a representative of Museum of Modern Art to be “among the best work (camera records) of the day”. 

 

Stark’s art is part of collections in several public institutions, including MoMA, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Gallery of Canada, The Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Detroit Institute of Art, and has been shared through over 50 one-person exhibitions at public Institutions including The Chicago Art Institute and was sold through many commercial art galleries across the country. 

 

Stark's wry sense of humor and wit was revealed through artmaking that spanned six decades and resulted in over 1000 unique images, and conceptual works. His early work was witness to the homogenization of the American landscape and the multidimensional beauty that remained, with later work highlighting his appreciation and deep respect for life through depictions of everyday objects, garden produce, the landscape surrounding his home, and his grandchildren. Larry and Barb built two homes, a round house in Minn and one which was more conventional in Wisconsin, with help from their friends, family, and Amish neighbors. Larry and Barb also created Ondo Dondo Real Food Farm, an organic produce farm in Augusta, WI.  This garden at its peak provided food for 15 families and was considered part of his art making too. Larry was a fair, generous and a tenacious man who lived by example and worked hard at what he loved, every day.

 

Larry and Barb’s 5 children: Marc Benson (René Ferrazzi), Aaron Jay (Sue), Aphrodite (Matt Blue), Isis Athena (Chad Christensen), and Buffalo Zeus (Lori Chilefone); 10 grandchildren: Jay Lee, Casandra Stanfield, Megan Tieso, Noah, Athena, Trenton, Jaz Blue, Sabine, Sterling Blue and Amora Christensen; and 4 great grandchildren: Savanah, Levi, Makayla and Luca…and one on the way. (04/23/2024) 

 

“I think Larry’s work will be used by scholars who want to talk about the evolution of American cities occurring around the 1970’s, specifically for his observations that revealed these outer rings springing out of capitalization, that were forming across the states outside of many cities.” - Christopher C. Cook

 

Larry acknowledged his friend and fellow artist, Christopher Cook, as his primary mentor. Cook was “a maverick and a rascal, delighting in breaking barriers and convention” with knowledge and respect for art history and the essential role of art and the artist in society. Cook was director of the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, and an artist who worked in many mediums, including conceptual art. Larry and Christopher shared a love for art, music, and fishing, and it was Chris who encouraged Larry early in his career when he curated Larry’s McDonalds Project/One Nation Under God- an exhibition at Phillips Academy. 

 

“Culture does not make people - people make culture” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie