Gourt > Arts > People > P > Parks, Gordon
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchannan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was a groundbreaking African-American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine and as the director of the 1971 film Shaft.
Early years
The youngest of 15 children, Parks was born into a poor, black family in Fort Scott, Kansas, a segregated town in rural Kansas. His mother, a staunch Methodist, was the main influence on his life, refusing to allow her son to justify failure with the excuse that he had been born black, and instilling in him self-confidence, ambition and a capacity for hard work.
In Parks' early teens, his mother died and he was sent to live with a married sister in St. Paul, Minnesota. He and his brother-in-law did not get along and he was evicted within a few weeks. He slept in trolley cars, loitered in pool halls, played piano in a brothel, worked as a factotum in a whites-only club, and worked as a waiter on a luxury train.
More on [ Gordon Parks ]
20th Century :: American
Shaft - 1971 :: S
Shaft - 2000 :: S
Photography :: Arts
Photojournalism :: Journalism
Literature :: African American
The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed. -- Gordon Parks
singergirl4God (Bethany) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:18:05 -0000
The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed. -- Gordon Parks
Famous quotes by Gordon Parks http://www.jittery.com/quotes/gordon-parks-quotes-5698.html
azquotes (A to Z Quotes) Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:35:02 -0000
Famous quotes by Gordon Parks http://www.jittery.com/quotes/gordon-parks-quotes-5698.html
Book signing to be held Dec. 16 in Gordon Parks Museum. http://r2u.at/33Nu60
yoloneci70284 (Fort Scott, KS News) Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:51:28 -0000
Book signing to be held Dec. 16 in Gordon Parks Museum. http://r2u.at/33Nu60
Lançado documentário sobre âAn Unlikely Weaponâ de edie adams. Participação de Gordon Parks, Kim Phuc, Nic Ut. A narração Kiefer Sutherland.
edson_correa (edson correa) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:19:35 -0000
Lançado documentário sobre “An Unlikely Weapon” de edie adams. Participação de Gordon Parks, Kim Phuc, Nic Ut. A narração Kiefer Sutherland.
@DiggsWayne you owned an original Gordon Parks print and you sold it for $$ for Katrina? Nice. Do we ever really own someone's art anyway?
cmarq (Colleen Marquis) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:07:55 -0000
@DiggsWayne you owned an original Gordon Parks print and you sold it for $$ for Katrina? Nice. Do we ever really own someone's art anyway?
@TheMCFaceman Aight Face, you might have to Spill it son, i can't be left in the dark on some Gordon Parks
WarrenBritt (Warren S. Britt) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:27:51 -0000
@TheMCFaceman Aight Face, you might have to Spill it son, i can't be left in the dark on some Gordon Parks
Photography of Gordon Parks, Sr. - Was part of a film series put on by New York State Writers Institute, at SUNY Albany. How he got his big break, and his work in photography and films. Links to film notes and to two articles.
A Great Day for Gordon Parks - Feature story on the legendary photographer's 90th birthday. RealAudio. Includes links to earlier stories on Parks. Requires JavaScript. [All Things Considered]
Meta Description: [ Gordon Parks is the legendary African-American photographer known for documenting the lives of the poor, and for being the first black staff photographer for Life magazine. Jon Kalish reports that last weekend, Parks celebrated his 90th birthday in New York City with a group of African-Am... ]
A Kansas Portrait: Gordon Parks - Biographical essay on the photographer, writer, and filmmaker.
A Lifetime of Photography: A Conversation with Gordon Parks - Short article on the remarkably versatile artist.
All Movie Guide: Gordon Parks - Short biography concentrating on Parks as a director, who he's worked with in film, and filmography.
Colored Reflections: Gordon Parks - Short biography.
Meta Description: [ Come visit Colored Reflections, an interactive history site that embraces the thoughts and experiences of people of all colors. Contribute your own reflections on people and events from the past to the present. ]
Ella Watson, U.S. Government Charwoman - A baker's dozen of photographs from Gordon Parks' series for the Farm Security Administration. Includes one of his most famous pictures, American Gothic. Accompanying text sheds light on how Roy Stryker helped Parks become a better artist.
Gordon Parks, Sr. - Biographical profile. Photographs of him and his parents.
Gordon Parks: Appreciation of an artist's life work - A photography instructor outlines the career of the groundbreaking black movie director and photographer. Includes several photographs. [Online Art Magazine]
Gordon Parks: Renaissance man, internationally-known photographer - Biographical profile, by the Corcoran Gallery's curator of photography and media arts. May not work in some browsers. [USA Today Magazine]
Meta Description: [ Full text of the article, 'Gordon Parks: renaissance man - internationally-known photographer' from USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), a publication in the field of News & Society, is provided free of charge by LookSmart's FindArticles service. ]
Half Past Autumn - An interview of photographer Gordon Parks on the occasion of a retrospective exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery. RealAudio and a transcript. Transcript uses some Windows-only characters. [NewsHour]
Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks - Notes from a 1999 exhibition. Information on the artist and the exhibition.
IMDb: Gordon Parks - Filmography, brief biography, trivia.
Meta Description: [ Gordon Parks - Filmography, Awards, Biography, Agent, Discussions, Photos, News Articles, Fan Sites ]
Legends Online: Gordon Parks - Biography, and a photo gallery.
Notable Black American Men: Gordon Parks - Biography of the African-American photographer, writer, and filmmaker.
Reporting Civil Rights: Gordon Parks - Traces the career of the photojournalist, movie producer, and writer. Includes selected bibliography.
Spartacus Educational: Gordon Parks - Short biography of the American photographer, for schoolchildren.
The Gordon Parks Collection - Description of still photos from the movie The Learning Tree, at Leonard H. Axe Library, Pittsburg State University. Links.
Meta Description: [ A collection of photographs, biographical materials, posters, and other items pertaining to the career of Gordon Parks. The materials in this collection mostly concern two movies directed by Parks; The Learning Tree and Leadbelly. A checklist of Parks' published works held by Pittsburg State Un... ]
Visual excellence is Gordon Parks - Biographical essay on the African-American photographer and filmmaker.
Meta Description: [ *On this date in 1912, Gordon Parks was born. He is an African-American photographer and filmmaker. ]
Wikipedia: Gordon Parks - Encyclopedia-style entry on the African American photographer, pianist, film director, and novelist.
| A Great Day In Hip Hop part 3 of 3 | |
| Next Video | |
