Born on November 30th, 1912, Gordon Parks was an American writer, film director, musician, and photographer who went on to become one of the most well-known “image makers of the postwar years” (The New York Times). Following his mother’s death at age 14 Parks left to live with his relatives for a short time before going off on his own into the world, taking all sorts of jobs that came his way. It wasn’t until age 25 when Parks first developed his interest in photography, when he saw images of migrant workers in a magazine, which prompted him to purchase his first camera. In 1940 Parks and his wife moved to Chicago which was where he began to take an interest documenting the low-income black neighborhoods that were in Chicago’s South Side. It was with the camera that Parks was able to use it as a “weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera” (Parks). In 1941, Parks was able to win a photography fellowship with the FSA (Farm Security Administration which would eventually lead him working at Life magazine as a photographer and writer for over two decades documenting subjects related to racism, poverty, celebrities, and politicians. In addition, Parks also served as a documentarian, capturing activism and humanitarianism of the mid-twentieth century. Until his death in 2006, Park’s career as a photographer was molded in a way that challenged stereotypes and category. It was through this method was he able to self-express his messages to his audience.
References:
http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/artist/biography
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/arts/design/gordon-parks-a-master-of-the-camera-dies-at-93.html