RELATED ARTICLES
Our 6th Year Anniversary
ARTPIL / Prescription .141
We are rounding out our fifth year with nearly 3 million visits strong. A very exciting journey it has been, indeed.
+
Black History Month
ARTPIL / Prescription .136
While the U.S. moves to dissolve Civil Rights oversight and state governments act to ban books that tell an...
+
Welcome to the Castle
Photobooks of the Year 2020
It is first of all necessary to identify the features of the discourses and the desires which have led...
+
New Year / 2021
ARTPIL / Prescription .122
This would be the world we would inhabit for the time. And so holiday celebrations would toast on a...
+
A Matter of Black Lives
ARTPIL / Prescription .117
Following the murder of George Floyd by police officers, demonstrations across the U.S. and beyond ignite against racism and...
+
Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK & the Civil Rights Movement
American civil inequities have been transformed into legal institutionalized violence and continues today; the very notion of equality as...
+
Visions of the Other America
Independence Day
America has always been considered as something of a contradiction. With eyes now already towards the midterms and the...
+
Fashion Photography: The Story
in 180 Pictures / Eugenie Shinkle
Exploring the influence that fashion photography has had over the past eight decades, this book presents the evolution as...
+
Invisible Man
Gordon Parks / Ralph Ellison
In honor of Black History Month, today's feature presents Parks and Ellison's collaboration and shared vision of black life...
+
#WhileBlack
Race relations in America
We are continuing to see the succession of incidents of discrimination and brutality against the black population. Today we...
+
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
70 year Anniversary
Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family...
+
Gordon Parks
Photographer

Gordon Parks was one of the seminal figures of twentieth century photography. A humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice, he left behind a body of work that documents many of the most important aspects of American culture from the early 1940s up until his death in 2006, with a focus on race relations, poverty, civil rights, and urban life. In addition, Parks was also a celebrated composer, author, and filmmaker who interacted with many of the most prominent people of his era – from politicians and artists to celebrities and athletes.

Born into poverty and segregation in Kansas in 1912, Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine. After buying a camera at a pawnshop, he taught himself how to use it and despite his lack of professional training, he found employment with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which was then chronicling the nation’s social conditions. Parks quickly developed a style that would make him one of the most celebrated photographers of his age, allowing him to break the color line in professional photography while creating remarkably expressive images that consistently explored the social and economic impact of racism.

When the FSA closed in 1943, Parks became a freelance photographer, balancing work for fashion magazines with his passion for documenting humanitarian issues. His 1948 photo essay on the life of a Harlem gang leader won him widespread acclaim and a position as the first African American staff photographer and writer for Life Magazine, then by far the most prominent photojournalist publication in the world. Parks would remain at Life for two decades, chronicling subjects related to racism and poverty, as well as taking memorable pictures of celebrities and politicians (including Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael). His most famous images, such as Emerging Man (1952) and American Gothic (1942) capture the essence of activism and humanitarianism in mid-twentieth century America and have become iconic images, defining their era for later generations. They also rallied support for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, for which Parks himself was a tireless advocate as well as a documentarian.

Parks spent much of the last three decades of his life expanding his style; he continued working up until his death in 2006, winning numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 1988, and over fifty honorary doctorates. He was also a noted composer and author, and in 1969, became the first African American to write and direct a Hollywood feature film based on his bestselling novel The Learning Tree. This was followed in 1971 by the hugely successful motion picture Shaft. The core of his accomplishment, however, remains his photography the scope, quality, and enduring national significance of which is reflected throughout the collection at The Gordon Parks Foundation.

Gordon Parks
Photographer

Gordon Parks was one of the seminal figures of twentieth century photography. A humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice, he left behind a body of work that documents many of the most important aspects of American culture from the early 1940s up until his death in 2006, with a focus on race relations, poverty, civil rights, and urban life. In addition, Parks was also a celebrated composer, author, and filmmaker who interacted with many of the most prominent people of his era – from politicians and artists to celebrities and athletes.

Born into poverty and segregation in Kansas in 1912, Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine. After buying a camera at a pawnshop, he taught himself how to use it and despite his lack of professional training, he found employment with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which was then chronicling the nation’s social conditions. Parks quickly developed a style that would make him one of the most celebrated photographers of his age, allowing him to break the color line in professional photography while creating remarkably expressive images that consistently explored the social and economic impact of racism.

When the FSA closed in 1943, Parks became a freelance photographer, balancing work for fashion magazines with his passion for documenting humanitarian issues. His 1948 photo essay on the life of a Harlem gang leader won him widespread acclaim and a position as the first African American staff photographer and writer for Life Magazine, then by far the most prominent photojournalist publication in the world. Parks would remain at Life for two decades, chronicling subjects related to racism and poverty, as well as taking memorable pictures of celebrities and politicians (including Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael). His most famous images, such as Emerging Man (1952) and American Gothic (1942) capture the essence of activism and humanitarianism in mid-twentieth century America and have become iconic images, defining their era for later generations. They also rallied support for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, for which Parks himself was a tireless advocate as well as a documentarian.

Parks spent much of the last three decades of his life expanding his style; he continued working up until his death in 2006, winning numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 1988, and over fifty honorary doctorates. He was also a noted composer and author, and in 1969, became the first African American to write and direct a Hollywood feature film based on his bestselling novel The Learning Tree. This was followed in 1971 by the hugely successful motion picture Shaft. The core of his accomplishment, however, remains his photography the scope, quality, and enduring national significance of which is reflected throughout the collection at The Gordon Parks Foundation.

RELATED ARTICLES
Our 6th Year Anniversary
ARTPIL / Prescription .141
We are rounding out our fifth year with nearly 3 million visits strong. A very exciting journey it has been, indeed.
+
Black History Month
ARTPIL / Prescription .136
While the U.S. moves to dissolve Civil Rights oversight and state governments act to ban books that tell an...
+
Welcome to the Castle
Photobooks of the Year 2020
It is first of all necessary to identify the features of the discourses and the desires which have led...
+
New Year / 2021
ARTPIL / Prescription .122
This would be the world we would inhabit for the time. And so holiday celebrations would toast on a...
+
A Matter of Black Lives
ARTPIL / Prescription .117
Following the murder of George Floyd by police officers, demonstrations across the U.S. and beyond ignite against racism and...
+
Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK & the Civil Rights Movement
American civil inequities have been transformed into legal institutionalized violence and continues today; the very notion of equality as...
+
Visions of the Other America
Independence Day
America has always been considered as something of a contradiction. With eyes now already towards the midterms and the...
+
Fashion Photography: The Story
in 180 Pictures / Eugenie Shinkle
Exploring the influence that fashion photography has had over the past eight decades, this book presents the evolution as...
+
Invisible Man
Gordon Parks / Ralph Ellison
In honor of Black History Month, today's feature presents Parks and Ellison's collaboration and shared vision of black life...
+
#WhileBlack
Race relations in America
We are continuing to see the succession of incidents of discrimination and brutality against the black population. Today we...
+
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
70 year Anniversary
Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family...
+
  • The Unspoken Things
    Photo Series
    Wlasta Laura
    The Moravian folk costume (kroj) is a traditional clothing ensemble that originates from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic. This costume reflects the cultural heritage and history of the Moravian people. The Moravian folk costume typically consists of various garments and accessories that vary depending on the specific region within Moravia. (more…)
  • Skin In The Game
    Sep 14, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024
    KW Institute for Contemporary Art
    Berlin, Germany
    Skin In The Game presents seminal prototypes from the personal archives of internationally acclaimed artists, dating back to the 1970s and crossing over into the present. The exhibits include experiments never previously shown, from paintings to sculptures, to banners, video performances, photographs, collages, drawings, books, and concept notes. The works focus on that moment of professional and existential emancipation when these artists threw their skin in the game, and gave their all to art. (more…)