time travel
Born in the tiny plains town of Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1912, Parks was the youngest of fifteen siblings. After the passing of his mother, fifteen-year-old Parks was sent to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with his sister, but soon found himself on his own after his brother-in-law expelled him from their home. Parks supported himself by taking several different jobs, including playing piano at a hotel. His talent drew the attention of a touring band's leader who asked him to join the group. When the tour ended and the band broke up, Parks found work as a railroad porter.
Parks saw the country by rail, and in 1937 he purchased his first camera in a Seattle pawnshop. He returned to St. Paul to pursue fashion photography, later moving to Chicago at the suggestion of the wife of boxer Joe Louis, who saw some of Park's photos in a St. Paul store. It was in Chicago that he began documenting the African American experience, work that led to a job with the Farm Security Administration along with some of America's greatest documentary photographers. Parks continued working as a photojournalist and joined the staff of LIFE magazine in 1948, a position he held for nearly twenty-five years.
The 1960s and 1970s saw Parks pursuing projects in both writing and filmmaking. His 1969 film, The Learning Tree, was based on his autobiographical novel of the same name and was the first film from a major studio to be produced and directed by an African American. His most commercially successful work was the classic blaxploitation film Shaft, which he directed in 1971. He also founded Essence magazine in 1970 and served as its editorial director until 1973.
Parks continued to work throughout his later years. In 1998 he published Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective, which accompanied a traveling exhibition of his work organized by the Corcoran Gallery, and in 2002 Parks received the Jackie Robinson Foundation Lifetime Achievement award. In accordance with his wishes, Parks will be buried near his parents' graves in Kansas.
This obituary originally appeared in Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Issue 34.6 (May/June 2006)
GORDON PARKS: 1912-2006
Gordon Parks, whose contributions to American culture spanned several decades and numerous genres, passed away at his home in New York City on March 7, 2006. He was ninety-three years old.
Born in the tiny plains town of Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1912, Parks was the youngest of fifteen siblings. After the passing of his mother, fifteen-year-old Parks was sent to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with his sister, but soon found himself on his own after his brother-in-law expelled him from their home. Parks supported himself by taking several different jobs, including playing piano at a hotel. His talent drew the attention of a touring band's leader who asked him to join the group. When the tour ended and the band broke up, Parks found work as a railroad porter.
Parks saw the country by rail, and in 1937 he purchased his first camera in a Seattle pawnshop. He returned to St. Paul to pursue fashion photography, later moving to Chicago at the suggestion of the wife of boxer Joe Louis, who saw some of Park's photos in a St. Paul store. It was in Chicago that he began documenting the African American experience, work that led to a job with the Farm Security Administration along with some of America's greatest documentary photographers. Parks continued working as a photojournalist and joined the staff of LIFE magazine in 1948, a position he held for nearly twenty-five years.
The 1960s and 1970s saw Parks pursuing projects in both writing and filmmaking. His 1969 film, The Learning Tree, was based on his autobiographical novel of the same name and was the first film from a major studio to be produced and directed by an African American. His most commercially successful work was the classic blaxploitation film Shaft, which he directed in 1971. He also founded Essence magazine in 1970 and served as its editorial director until 1973.
Parks continued to work throughout his later years. In 1998 he published Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective, which accompanied a traveling exhibition of his work organized by the Corcoran Gallery, and in 2002 Parks received the Jackie Robinson Foundation Lifetime Achievement award. In accordance with his wishes, Parks will be buried near his parents' graves in Kansas.
This obituary originally appeared in Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Issue 34.6 (May/June 2006)
Born in the tiny plains town of Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1912, Parks was the youngest of fifteen siblings. After the passing of his mother, fifteen-year-old Parks was sent to St. Paul, Minnesota, to live with his sister, but soon found himself on his own after his brother-in-law expelled him from their home. Parks supported himself by taking several different jobs, including playing piano at a hotel. His talent drew the attention of a touring band's leader who asked him to join the group. When the tour ended and the band broke up, Parks found work as a railroad porter.
Parks saw the country by rail, and in 1937 he purchased his first camera in a Seattle pawnshop. He returned to St. Paul to pursue fashion photography, later moving to Chicago at the suggestion of the wife of boxer Joe Louis, who saw some of Park's photos in a St. Paul store. It was in Chicago that he began documenting the African American experience, work that led to a job with the Farm Security Administration along with some of America's greatest documentary photographers. Parks continued working as a photojournalist and joined the staff of LIFE magazine in 1948, a position he held for nearly twenty-five years.
The 1960s and 1970s saw Parks pursuing projects in both writing and filmmaking. His 1969 film, The Learning Tree, was based on his autobiographical novel of the same name and was the first film from a major studio to be produced and directed by an African American. His most commercially successful work was the classic blaxploitation film Shaft, which he directed in 1971. He also founded Essence magazine in 1970 and served as its editorial director until 1973.
Parks continued to work throughout his later years. In 1998 he published Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective, which accompanied a traveling exhibition of his work organized by the Corcoran Gallery, and in 2002 Parks received the Jackie Robinson Foundation Lifetime Achievement award. In accordance with his wishes, Parks will be buried near his parents' graves in Kansas.
This obituary originally appeared in Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Issue 34.6 (May/June 2006)