Larry Clark’s Tulsa: The Highway That Shaped a Photobook
Aperture magazine’s “Secrets” edition delves into Larry Clark’s 1971 photobook, Tulsa, drawing connections between its depictions of adolescent drug use and the urban renewal initiatives that ravaged North Tulsa. Clark captured images of his friends from 1962 to 1971, as the Crosstown Expressway, finished in 1972, divided the city and led to the destruction of numerous homes, including his own, which was sold for scrap in 1965. While Clark was serving in Vietnam, his parents moved with his negatives. The article highlights Tulsa’s economic segregation, rooted in the early 20th century and worsened by businesses relocating to Texas. Federal initiatives from Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty aimed at crime yet primarily displaced Black residents. In 2025, the Cherokee Nation and Tulsa’s City Council revealed plans to invest in areas north of the highway.
Key facts
- Larry Clark's photobook 'Tulsa' was published in 1971.
- Clark photographed 'Tulsa' between 1962 and 1971.
- The Crosstown Expressway construction segregated Tulsa's neighborhoods.
- Clark's family home was auctioned and sold for scrap in 1965.
- Clark's parents relocated with his early negatives while he served in Vietnam.
- The final section of the Crosstown Expressway was completed in 1972.
- In 2025, Tulsa's City Council and the Cherokee Nation announced investments for neighborhoods north of the highway.
- Habitat for Humanity owns hundreds of abandoned lots in the neighborhoods Clark frequented.
Entities
Artists
- Larry Clark
- David Roper
- Billy Mann
Institutions
- Aperture
- Greenwood Rising
- Habitat for Humanity
- Tulsa City Council
- Cherokee Nation
- Luhring Augustine
Locations
- Tulsa
- United States
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- North Tulsa
- Cherokee territory
- Muscogee lands