Can't believe I've never done a post about Gordon Parks, he's my favorite photographer ever. I first learned about him just last year when I stopped by a tribute show that the Schomburg Museum in Harlem, which I passed everyday on my way to school, was doing in celebration of his (would be) 100th birthday a year ago. During its installment, I visited twice and it was my first time ever crying from looking at works of art. His work is such a testament to the way that art can really affect people mostly because of the raw emotion and authenticity of a lot of his subject material. As an artist, Parks focused on photographing social realism and captured several aspects of Black America for about five decades. Not only were his photographs amazing, but he made history while making contact sheets (google it if you don't know what those are).
Parks was the first African-American photographer for both LIFE and Vogue magazines and donned "Hollywood's first major black film director", most well known for Shaft. During his life he also explored careers in music and writing and is the co-founder of Essence Magazine. His photographs ranged from the depiction of poverty to high fashion and everything in between including several portraits of famous celebrities, many of whom he became good friends with. Parks unfortunately passed away in the spring of 2006 from cancer but his legacy lives on in the works of so many photographers today and especially amongst the Black community. So in honor of his birthday I decided to post some of his work. Enjoy.
Ali
Monroe
Malcolm X
(BTW, the rest of the photographs from this color series on segregation are so cool, click this)
Basquiat
