Gordon Parks (1912–2006) described his camera as his “choice of weapons.”
He was a premier photojournalist and also a composer, author, poet, and film director. In those roles, he documented many aspects of the lives of Black Americans from the 1940s through the 1970s.
He started as a staff photographer for “Life” magazine in 1948 and elevated their profile until he died in 2006.
The overall theme of “Gordon Parks: Born Black,” currently on display at the Jack Shainman Gallery (513 W. 20th Street, Manhattan) is social justice. Parks captured images that represent the Civil Rights Movement, and everything we endured and survived during that time period: racism, economic decline, crushing poverty, and more.
But his work, and this exhibition, isn’t all doom and gloom. Parks also took a lot of joyful photos, as well as those that just stop you in your tracks and make you really think about the person/people in the photo. How are they feeling? What are they thinking about? You can get lost sometimes, in a good way.
This show is based on photos that appear in the book “Born Black.” It’s chock-full of all kinds of images, mostly black-and-white, and a fair amount in full color. They’re all amazing. The walls of the gallery also feature powerful quotes from Parks in between photo groupings.
Powerfully composed, the photos provide a stark contrast: Civil rights leaders, random children at play, religious services, public protests, people in groups, and solitary figures. Parks had an incredible eye.
My constant thought while walking through the gallery was “human resolve and dignity.” I teared up and cried while looking at many of the beautifully framed (in basic black-and-white—a great choice) images that spoke out loud to me. I thought about my parents, aunts, and uncles, and the things they endured and survived in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s.
I highly suggest buying the newly expanded book—available for pre-order here and here: www.artbook.com/9783969992289.html—because it is wonderful. First published in 1971, it is woefully underrated and was pretty much ignored. I was lucky to grow up with it, thanks to my parents.
This newly expanded edition was published by Steidl in association with the Gordon Parks Foundation, which was founded by Parks and Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., former managing editor of Life Magazine. The show is up until April 20.
Don’t walk, RUN to see this show! For more info, visit www.jackshainman.com/exhibitions.
