By: Riley Shill

GORDON PARKS(1912-2006)

"THOSE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO USE A CAMERA SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND, THERE'S

SOMETHING THEY WANT TO SHOW, SOMETHING THEY WANT TO SAY..." (PARKS)

BIOGRAPHY

• Born Nov 30, 1912 in Fort Scott Kansas

• Attended a segregated elementary school

• Three white boys threw him in a river when he was 11

• His mother died when he was 15 and then ran away from home

• Parks spent his last night at home sleeping next to his mother’s coffin, facing his own fear of death

• Married and divorced three times: Sally Alvis, Elizabeth Campbell, Genevieve Young

• He had four children

• He died of cancer in 2006 in New York City at age 93

BIOGRAPHY (CONT.)

• Also a film director, musician, poet, journalist, and activist

• Directed several Hollywood movies

• Jazz pianist

• Civil Rights Activist

• Most known for his pronoun career in photography

PERSONAL LIFE

EARLY CAREER

• At 25 he bought his first camera for $12.50

• Encouraged by Marva Louis to move to Chicago in 1940

• Began as a freelance photographer

• Everything from fashion to the depression of Chicago’s slums

PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER

• Freelance photographer in Chicago for 4 years

• By 1944, Parks was the only black photographer working for Vogue

• Only black photographer working for Life by 1948

• Sent by Life to Europe and across the US photographing the civil rights movement

• Known as an American Gothic

INFLUENCES

• Influenced by the civil rights movement across the world especially in America

• Poverty in ghettos and slums

• Wanted to raise awareness to the rest of the world

• Wanted to break barriers and stereotypes

WHO DID GORDON PARKS INFLUENCE?

• Brought awareness to:

- Civil Rights Movement

- Poverty in inner cities

INFLUENCE ON PHOTOGRAPHY

• Style is known as “American Gothic”

• Changed the general mood that people see photography

“Photography is my weapon…” (Parks)

o Emphasizes emotion and mood of those who were in poverty

o Responding to the repeated racism in public buildings

o Rule of odds, shape

“AMERICAN GOTHIC, WASHINGTON D.C.”

o Ella Watson and her family in 1942o Demonstrates struggle poverty stricken families

had to go through during that time

“Emerging Man” shot in Harlem

in 1952

Emphasizes emotion

by focusing on his

eyes

Spot, line, shape

Appeals to audiences emotion by focusing on their faces

Tells a story of sadness and hardships with kids’ emotions

Golden Spiral, Rule of Thirds, Rule of Odds, Line

Did not so much influence another art form, rather he raised overall awareness by the public of racism, poverty, and civil rights

Other influences…

• Parks once said…

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.”

OTHER INTERESTING INFO

• In 1972, Parks received the Spingarn Medal given by the NAACP

• Received over 20 doctorates in his lifetime

• Was the first prominent African American director in Hollywood

• Was good friends with boxer Muhammad Ali

• Was the godfather of Malcom X’s daughter

WORKS CITED

• Grundberg, Andy. "Gordon Parks, a Master of the Camera, Dies at 93." New York Times, 8 Mar. 2006. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/arts/design/08parks.html?pagewanted=all>.

• "Gordon Parks." NNDB Mapper. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nndb.com/people/248/000027167/>.

• Gale Cengage Learning. "Gordon Parks." Gale.cengage.com. Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/parks_g.htm>.

WORKS CITED (CONT.)

• "Legends Online." Pdngallery.com. PDN & Kodak Professionals. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://pdngallery.com/legends/parks/intro_set.shtml>.

• "Gordon Parks." Mastersofphotography.com. Masters of Photography. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.masters-of-photography.com/P/parks/parks_watson.html>.