This 1950s Photo Essay On Racism In America Is As Relevant As Ever
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was an American photographer, film director, writer and composer. He directed “Shaft” (1971) and co-founded Essence magazine. He was the first black photographe…
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 March 7, 2006) Gordon Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine and as the…
Baronesa von Friesen, Estoril, Portugal, 1951 Estoril, Portugal, 1951
The role of art in confronting important political and social issues is brought to the forefront at a new exhibition at the Whitney in New York
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, to Andrew Jackson and Sarah (Ross) Parks. He was the youngest of 15 children. His father was a tenant farmer and the family struggled as a result of poverty. After his mother died when he was 15, Parks left Kansas and moved north to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with an older sister. The living arrangement lasted briefly. Parks attended Central High and Mechanical Arts High School in St. Paul but was forced to quit before graduation. He supported himself through a variety of jobs, first relying on his musical abilities to play piano and sing. Married and divorced three times, Parks first married Sally Alvis in 1933. They had three children. While working as a railroad porter in 1937, he saw a magazine spread of the photography that sparked his interest. Parks purchased a twin lens reflex camera from a pawn shop and within a month presented his first exhibit at an Eastman Kodak store. He soon became a successful fashion and portrait photographer. He shot a photo essay of Chicago’s South Side ghetto and received a fellowship from the Farm Security Administration. He shot one of his best known photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C., of Ella Watson, on the cleaning crew at FSA, standing in front of an American flag with brooms in hand. Parks’ next venue was Harlem, where he worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue. He received a contract for the Standard Oil Photography Project in New Jersey. A photo essay of a Harlem gang leader earned Parks a staff position as writer and photographer with Life. During the next two decades, he recorded images of post-war America, depicting black America emerging from the Civil Rights Movement. He married Elizabeth Campbell in 1962. In 1963 Parks published an autobiographical novel of his youth, The Learning Tree, which he adapted to the movie screen in 1969. He continued making movies with the highly successful Shaft, its sequel Shaft's Big Score, and Super Cops. Parks married Genevieve Young in 1973. His ballet, Martin, based on Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered in 1969 and was screened on national television the following year. Parks died in March 7, 2006, in New York. He is buried in the Fort Scott cemetery. www.kshs.org/kansapedia/gordon-parks/12164
Description The artworks in the exhibition lay out a vision of America from an African American viewpoint. These artists embrace many universal themes and also evoke specific aspects of the African American experience—the African Diaspora, jazz, and the persistent power of religion. The artists work in styles as varied as documentary realism, abstraction, and postmodern assemblage of found objects to address a diverse array of subjects. Robert McNeill, Richmond Barthé, and Benny Andrews speak to the dignity and resilience of people who work the land. Jacob Lawrence, Roy DeCarava, and Thornton Dial, Sr. acknowledge the struggle for economic and civil rights. Sargent Johnson, Loïs Mailou Jones, and Melvin Edwards address the heritage of Africa, and images by Romare Bearden recast Christian themes in terms of black experience. James Porter and Alma Thomas explore beauty in the natural world. All 100 artworks in the exhibition are drawn entirely from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s rich collection of African American art. More than half of the featured works, including paintings by Benny Andrews, Jacob Lawrence, and Loïs Mailou Jones, and photographs by Roy DeCarava, Gordon Parks, Roland Freeman, and Marilyn Nance, are being exhibited by the museum for the first time, and ten works are recent acquisitions. The exhibition includes fifty-four photographs, which are incorporated into the display while also organizing the exhibition thematically. Individual object labels connect the artists and their works with the artistic, social, and contextual factors that shaped their creation. The exhibition is organized by Virginia Mecklenburg, chief curator. Visiting Information Smithsonian American Art Museum April 27, 2012 – September 3, 2012 Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m Free Admission Tour Schedule Muscarelle Museum of Art Williamsburg, VA September 28, 2012 – January 6, 2013 Mennello Museum of American Art Orlando, FL February 1, 2013 – April 28, 2013 Peabody Essex Museum Salem, MA June 1, 2013 – September 2, 2013 The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History Albuquerque, NM September 29, 2013 – January 19, 2014 Hunter Museum of American Art Chattanooga, TN February 14, 0214 – May 25, 2014 Crocker Art Museum Sacramento, CA June 28, 2014 – September 21, 2014
An upcoming photography exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will explore the definition of the American family.
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, to Andrew Jackson and Sarah (Ross) Parks. He was the youngest of 15 children. His father was a tenant farmer and the family struggled as a result of poverty. After his mother died when he was 15, Parks left Kansas and moved north to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with an older sister. The living arrangement lasted briefly. Parks attended Central High and Mechanical Arts High School in St. Paul but was forced to quit before graduation. He supported himself through a variety of jobs, first relying on his musical abilities to play piano and sing. Married and divorced three times, Parks first married Sally Alvis in 1933. They had three children. While working as a railroad porter in 1937, he saw a magazine spread of the photography that sparked his interest. Parks purchased a twin lens reflex camera from a pawn shop and within a month presented his first exhibit at an Eastman Kodak store. He soon became a successful fashion and portrait photographer. He shot a photo essay of Chicago’s South Side ghetto and received a fellowship from the Farm Security Administration. He shot one of his best known photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C., of Ella Watson, on the cleaning crew at FSA, standing in front of an American flag with brooms in hand. Parks’ next venue was Harlem, where he worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue. He received a contract for the Standard Oil Photography Project in New Jersey. A photo essay of a Harlem gang leader earned Parks a staff position as writer and photographer with Life. During the next two decades, he recorded images of post-war America, depicting black America emerging from the Civil Rights Movement. He married Elizabeth Campbell in 1962. In 1963 Parks published an autobiographical novel of his youth, The Learning Tree, which he adapted to the movie screen in 1969. He continued making movies with the highly successful Shaft, its sequel Shaft's Big Score, and Super Cops. Parks married Genevieve Young in 1973. His ballet, Martin, based on Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered in 1969 and was screened on national television the following year. Parks died in March 7, 2006, in New York. He is buried in the Fort Scott cemetery. www.kshs.org/kansapedia/gordon-parks/12164
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 March 7, 2006) Gordon Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine and as the…
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was a multitalented African American photographer who, at various times in his life, was also musician, writer and film director (he directed the groundbreaking film "Shaft" in 1971). A woman and her dog in the Harlem section, 1943 American Gothic, 1942 Anacostia, D.C. Frederick Douglass housing project. A dance group, 1942 Anacostia, D.C. Frederick Douglass housing project. Mother and her daughter, 1942 Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman College. "Queenie," a National Youth Administration student who expects to get a job in a Connecticut defense plant after her training, 1943 Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman College. Students on the agricultural school farm feeding chickens, 1943 Daytona Beach, Florida. Students in the home economics class, 1943 Daytona Beach, Florida. Young boy on his front porch, 1943 New York, New York. Harlem newsboy, 1943 Southfields, New York. Interracial activities at Camp Nathan Hale, where children are aided by the Methodist Camp Service. First aid, 1943 No caption Washington, D.C. Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, dressing her grandchildren, 1942 [the same woman in the "American Gothic" portrait above] Washington, D.C. Negro children in the front door of their home, 1942
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was an American photographer, film director, writer and composer. He directed “Shaft” (1971) and co-founded Essence magazine. He was the first black photographe…
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was an American photographer, film director, writer and composer. He directed “Shaft” (1971) and co-founded Essence magazine. He was the first black photographe…
Dalla prima retrospettiva europea su uno dei più grandi fotografi del ventesimo secolo, aperta da ieri a Milano
Foam presenteert het eerste grote retrospectief van de foto's van pionier Gordon Parks in Nederland.
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was an American photographer, film director, writer and composer. He directed “Shaft” (1971) and co-founded Essence magazine. He was the first black photographe…
Exhibition dates: 15th November 2014 – 21st June 2015 Gordon Parks (American, 1912-2006) Airline Terminal, Atlanta, Georgia 1956 Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Found…
Bio: Born in Kansas in 1912, Gordon Parks was a photographer and humanitarian. The youngest of 15 children, Parks had a hard life. He desired to go to college but was discouraged by his teacher. However, he never graduated from high school, because he was living on the streets, working odd jobs when he was just 15 years old. One of those jobs was playing piano at a brothel. He also wrote his own compositions during his free time. One day while working at a hotel, the leader of a jazz band heard one of his songs and invited him to join the band. While Parks always had an interest in photography, it wasn’t until he saw a photo of migrant farm workers illustrating the effect of the Great Depression, that he started dabbling in the field. He stated, “I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera.” Buying a used camera, he taught himself how to use it over a few years. After impressing Marva Louis, the wife of boxer Joe Louis, Parks moved to Chicago, where she helped him find jobs taking photos for people of high society. Thus, officially beginning his long and prolific career as a photographer.Why you should know him: Gordon Parks is the epitome of overcoming adversity. Despite having a tough childhood, he was accomplished amazing things. He was the first Black photographer for the Office of War Information, taking photos of the first Black fighter pilot squadron. He spent his free time taking photos of people in poverty to highlight their conditions. He was the first Black photographer to create work and later be hired by Life magazine. He worked for magazines like Essence and Vogue, not to mention working for Life magazine for 20 years. During his career, Parks photographed a huge range of topics from fashion to systematic racism. Parks' photography wasn’t appreciated by everyone. After his photo series about the cruelty of segregation in the South, his life was threatened. He also dealt with threats of lynching when he covered the Civil Rights Movement. But he persevered. He also directed several films and documentaries. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he composed and directed a ballet in honor of the civil rights leader. Today, his works are part of permanent collections in a number of museums across the United States.
Diana McClintock reviews Gordon Parks: Segregation Story, a photography exhibit of both well-known and recently uncovered images by Gordon Parks (1912–2006), an African American photojournalist, writer, filmmaker, and musician. The exhibit is on display at Atlanta's High Museum of Art through June 21, 2015. All photographs appear courtesy of The Gordon Parks Foundation.
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, to Andrew Jackson and Sarah (Ross) Parks. He was the youngest of 15 children. His father was a tenant farmer and the family struggled as a result of poverty. After his mother died when he was 15, Parks left Kansas and moved north to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with an older sister. The living arrangement lasted briefly. Parks attended Central High and Mechanical Arts High School in St. Paul but was forced to quit before graduation. He supported himself through a variety of jobs, first relying on his musical abilities to play piano and sing. Married and divorced three times, Parks first married Sally Alvis in 1933. They had three children. While working as a railroad porter in 1937, he saw a magazine spread of the photography that sparked his interest. Parks purchased a twin lens reflex camera from a pawn shop and within a month presented his first exhibit at an Eastman Kodak store. He soon became a successful fashion and portrait photographer. He shot a photo essay of Chicago’s South Side ghetto and received a fellowship from the Farm Security Administration. He shot one of his best known photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C., of Ella Watson, on the cleaning crew at FSA, standing in front of an American flag with brooms in hand. Parks’ next venue was Harlem, where he worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue. He received a contract for the Standard Oil Photography Project in New Jersey. A photo essay of a Harlem gang leader earned Parks a staff position as writer and photographer with Life. During the next two decades, he recorded images of post-war America, depicting black America emerging from the Civil Rights Movement. He married Elizabeth Campbell in 1962. In 1963 Parks published an autobiographical novel of his youth, The Learning Tree, which he adapted to the movie screen in 1969. He continued making movies with the highly successful Shaft, its sequel Shaft's Big Score, and Super Cops. Parks married Genevieve Young in 1973. His ballet, Martin, based on Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered in 1969 and was screened on national television the following year. Parks died in March 7, 2006, in New York. He is buried in the Fort Scott cemetery. www.kshs.org/kansapedia/gordon-parks/12164
La segregazione razziale negli Stati Uniti degli anni cinquanta raccontata da un reportage di Gordon Parks. Leggi
Exhibition dates: 15th November 2014 – 21st June 2015 Gordon Parks (American, 1912-2006) Airline Terminal, Atlanta, Georgia 1956 Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Found…
This 1950s Photo Essay On Racism In America Is As Relevant As Ever
