Gordon Parks


Gordon Parks at the Civil Rights March on Washington, 1963


After seeing a story about planes in 1937 by the cameraman Norman Ally, Gordon Parks in a movie theater decides to become a photographer. Few days later, in Seattle, he buys a Voightlanger Brilliant that was 12,5 dollars at the time and in the same afternoon he starts to photograph.
At this beggining, his photographs were displayed in a downtown Minneapolis shop window and it was there when all began. He was hired by the Life magazine, wich he stayed about two decades and after continued to collaborate.
His photograph goes from fashion to the exploitation of non-privileged. In his words (that I found in the book " The Pleasure of Photographing", Kodak Company, Abril Cultural): " I did not choose the picture as a form of expression by chance. When I bought my first machine, was aware of its power to communicate feeling. The problem was to learn how to do it with simplicity, so that could be understood both in China and in Missouri."


Logo após ver uma reportagem sobre aviões em 1937 do cinegrafista Norman Ally, Gordon Parks numa sala de cinema decide tornar-se fotógrafo. Alguns dias depois, em Seattle, compra uma Voightlander Brilliant que custava apenas 12,5 dólares na época e na mesma tarde começa a fotografar.
Nesse começo, suas fotografias foram exibidas na vitrina de uma loja no centro de Minneapolis e foi ai que tudo começou. Foi contratado pela revista Life na qual permaneceu cerca de duas décadas e que depois continuou colaborando.
Sua fotografia vai da moda à exploração dos não privilegiados. Em suas palavras (que encontrei no livro " O Prazer the Fotografar" dos editores da Kodak Company, Abril Cultural. ): " Não escolhi a fotografia como forma de expressão por acaso. Quando comprei minha primeira máquina, tinha consciência de seu poder de comunicar sentimento. O problema era aprender a fazê-lo com simplicidade, de modo que pudesse ser compreendido tanto na China como no Missouri. "


Flavio da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, 1961


Department Store, Birmingham, Alabama, 1956


Ethel Shariff in Chicago, 1963


American Gothic, 1942


Beggar Woman and Child, Estoril, Portugal, 1950


James Galanos Fashion, circa 1967


Gloria Vanderbilt, New York, 1960



Fashion, Circa 1962







You can find more pictures of Gordon Parks here: http://www.pdngallery.com/legends/parks/mainframeset.shtml

2 comentários:

  1. these are very powerful pictures - he is so talented

    thank you so much for visiting me and commenting! hope you'll visit me again soon/follow me :}

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  2. What a wonderful story and gorgeous photographs. A picture is worth a 1000 words really fits these photos.

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