"Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood," at the Salt Lake Art Center through May 30, is the result of photographer Lauren Greenfield's four-year journey among the youth culture of Los Angeles. It is a thought-provoking exhibition that will leave viewers — especially viewers raising teenagers — shaking their heads. It is terrifyingly honest and frequently unforgiving in its portrayal of what kids think about fame, fortune and sex.

Greenfield earned her bachelor's degree at Harvard in visual anthropology. And while the majority of her documentary images would be merely adequate to good if exhibited alone, when coupled with the youth interview excerpts, the union lifts the show to higher level of importance.

Broken up into sections that include a group of images with a youth's statement, Greenfield documents the lure of the Southern California lifestyle — for rich and poor kids alike — with its often destructive effect.

Greenfield's photographs are that of an observer, a correspondent, showing the viewer what is out there. However, she is not apathetic, as evidenced by the exhibit's opening written statement:

"In a time of life when young people struggle to form their identities, that struggle is raised to new heights in the context of Los Angeles and Hollywood. Whether it is the desire to be an adult when only a child, to be a gangster when one is privileged, to be famous when one is unknown, or to look like a model when one does not, young people are preoccupied with becoming other than they are.

"Los Angeles, in her traditional role as the city of dreams, has bequeathed the quest for the dream to her children. The self-consciousness that underlies their aspirations inevitably costs them their innocence."

In one image, 10-year-old Emily lounges in a pool, feigning glamour: "Everybody I know shaves their legs, and I think it's about time I shave mine," she writes.

Thirteen-year-old Ari primps while his mother smiles at him. On the wall behind them are two foldouts from Playboy magazine:

"A lot of my friends (in the 8th grade) have had sex from peer pressure. If you had sex, the other kids say, 'Wow, I admire you.' You just try to have sex early to be cool, I guess."

Another image is of Adam, age 13, after his bar mitzvah:

"I hate how we have homeless people starving on the streets. I'm in a house with 2 VCRs and cable. I mean, if we could just substitute one of the VCRs and give it to those people — it would make such a difference in our world."

Erin is in high school. She's with some girls sniffing aerosol air freshener in the restroom:

"I am really worried about the future. Just thinking about it boggles my mind. What am I going to do when I grow up? Am I going to live on the streets, or am I going to live in a really nice house, or am I just going to live in a normal little house? The future is just a trip. It's just a trip because you don't know what's going to happen?"

The first thing viewers encounter in "Fast Forward" is a short, printed essay, "The Invention of Adolescence," by Richard Rodgiquez. Read it; its honesty sets the tone for what is ultimately an enlightening experience.

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