2. "THOSE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO USE A CAMERA
SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND, THERE'S
SOMETHING THEY WANT TO SHOW, SOMETHING
THEY WANT TO SAY..." (PARKS)
3. BIOGRAPHY
• Born Nov 30, 1912 in Fort Scott Kansas
• Attended a segregated elementary school
• Three white boys threw him in a river when he was 11
• His mother died when he was 15 and then ran away
from home
• Parks spent his last night at home sleeping next to his
mother’s coffin, facing his own fear of death
4. BIOGRAPHY (CONT.)
• Married and divorced
three times: Sally Alvis,
Elizabeth Campbell,
Genevieve Young
• He had four children
• He died of cancer in
2006 in New York City
at age 93
5. PERSONAL LIFE
• Also a film director, • Most known for his
musician, poet, pronoun career in
journalist, and activist photography
• Directed several
Hollywood movies
• Jazz pianist
• Civil Rights Activist
6. EARLY CAREER
• At 25 he bought his first camera for $12.50
• Encouraged by Marva Louis to move to Chicago in
1940
• Began as a freelance photographer
• Everything from fashion to the depression of Chicago’s
slums
7. PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER
• Freelance photographer in Chicago for 4 years
• By 1944, Parks was the only black photographer
working for Vogue
• Only black photographer working for Life by 1948
• Sent by Life to Europe and across the US
photographing the civil rights movement
• Known as an American Gothic
8. INFLUENCES
• Influenced by the civil rights movement across the
world especially in America
• Poverty in ghettos and slums
• Wanted to raise awareness to the rest of the world
• Wanted to break barriers and stereotypes
9. WHO DID GORDON PARKS INFLUENCE?
• Brought awareness to:
- Civil Rights Movement
- Poverty in inner cities
10. INFLUENCE ON PHOTOGRAPHY
• Style is known as “American Gothic”
• Changed the general mood that people see
photography
12. “AMERICAN GOTHIC, WASHINGTON D.C.”
o Emphasizes emotion and
mood of those who were in
poverty
o Responding to the repeated
racism in public buildings
o Rule of odds, shape
13. o Ella Watson and her family in 1942
o Demonstrates struggle poverty stricken families
had to go through during that time
14. “Emerging Man” shot in Harlem
in 1952
Emphasizes emotion
by focusing on his
eyes
Spot, line, shape
15. Appeals to audiences emotion by
focusing on their faces
Tells a story of sadness and
hardships with kids’ emotions
Golden Spiral, Rule of Thirds,
Rule of Odds, Line
16. Other Did not so much influence
influences… another art form, rather he
raised overall awareness
by the public of racism,
poverty, and civil rights
17. • Parks once said…
“The subject matter is so much more important than the
photographer.”
18. OTHER INTERESTING INFO
• In 1972, Parks received the Spingarn Medal given by
the NAACP
• Received over 20 doctorates in his lifetime
• Was the first prominent African American director in
Hollywood
• Was good friends with boxer Muhammad Ali
• Was the godfather of Malcom X’s daughter
19. WORKS CITED
• Grundberg, Andy. "Gordon Parks, a Master of the Camera, Dies at 93." New
York Times, 8 Mar. 2006. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/arts/design/08parks.html?pagewanted=
all>.
• "Gordon Parks." NNDB Mapper. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.nndb.com/people/248/000027167/>.
• Gale Cengage Learning. "Gordon Parks." Gale.cengage.com. Gale. Web. 11
Jan. 2012.
<http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/parks_g.htm>.
