*1912
Gordon
Parks
*1912
Parks
is an American Renaissance man who mastered many media to express an uplifting
and influential message of hope in the face of adversity. Parks very consciously
uses his art to expose the world as he sees it, and reflects its ugliness as
well as its beauty.
In
1948, LIFE Magazine hired Parks to photograph both the gang wars in Harlem as
well as fashions in Paris. He has retained the ability to move between such
different realms for the sake of his work throughout his career. His photographs
convey a visual dialogue between rich and poor, rather than focusing one or the
other.
Parks
began to manipulate color photographs in 1958. His experiments include multiple
exposures, collage and painting on pictures. By the 1960s, Parks was one of the
most influential photojournalists of his time. He has continued this process
through the present, and has evolved a lyrical style that fluctuates between
realism and abstraction.
Parks has written four books about his life, The Learning Tree; A Choice of Weapons; To Smile in Autumn; and Voices in the Mirror.
© by Galerie Stephen Hoffman