While I clearly have high regard for Gordon Parks - the man, I'd be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to highlight his work as an artist. This is best done by referral to his retrospective catalogue, Half Past Autumn – The Life and Works of Gordon Parks.
Editorial Review From Library Journal
This lavishly illustrated book of photographs from prolific African American artist Parks accompanies a traveling exhibit organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Though Philip Brookman, the Corcoran's curator of photography, offers an assessment of Parks's artistic contributions, his autobiography - revised, updated, and shortened for this retrospective volume - tells it best. Born in 1912, Parks began photography with a $7.50 camera in 1938 and later talked his way into a job with Roy Stryker at the Farm Security Administration. He went on to photograph a range of subjects, from factory workers and Harlem riots to fashion (for Vogue), Paris (for Life), the Civil Rights movement, and Muhammad Ali; his later color work is at once dreamlike and stark. Unrivaled in the emotional impact of his photographs and the range of projects he undertook - his bibliography/filmography lists 15 books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photography - he has also written and directed several films and composed film scores, ballets, and works for piano and orchestra. The images in this fine book, presented chronologically from 1949, go up to 1997. Highly recommended for photography, black history, photojournalism, fashion photography, and general collections. Kathleen Collins, Bank of America Archives, San Francisco Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
I enthusiastically recommend you to Karen Marks of Howard Greenberg Gallery (NYC) and Anna Walker Skillman of Jackson Fine Art (ATL) for additional information regarding Mr. Parks' career and works.
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