Living at the Movies

Living at the Movies
Larry Rivers

Artist Biography
Acquisition Number: 80.8
Medium: Screenprint
Size: 20 3/4" x 26"
Date: 1974
Credit: Gift of Argosy Partners & Bond Street Partners

"Living at the Movies" is a replica of Rivers' design for the cover of a book of poems by Jim Carroll, a friend of the artist. Carroll is pictured at the very bottom of the image with long hair. In this work, photographs were collaged onto a painted background of seats in a movie theater - the photographs being of familiar people in Rivers' life, depicted in sexually suggestive manners. He frequently pulled images from mass media, family photographs, and art history books that he could rework with his unique sense of humor. Rivers' son, Steven, is seated in the movie theater with a young woman, perhaps his girlfriend. Rivers' own girlfriend at the time, Diana, is portrayed three times - in the back, middle, and front of the theater, almost as if she is moving. These visuals imply that all of life's activities can, and do, take place in movie theaters. Rivers' work and personality were often unconventional and controversial, and he is considered the "Godfather" of Pop art, influencing its development and artists such as Andy Warhol.