SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1997 MARKS THE 85TH BIRTHDAY OF GORDON
PARKS, WHO IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PHOTOGRAPHY.
PARKS IS AN ARTIST OF MANY TALENTS, AND A RETROSPECTIVE
EXHIBIT AT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART HERE IN WASHINGTON
CELEBRATES THEM ALL.
GORDON PARKS HAS WRITTEN BOOKS AND POETRY, COMPOSED
MUSIC AND DIRECTED MOVIES. IN FACT HE WAS HOLLYWOOD'S
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN DIRECTOR OF MAJOR FILMS. THE
FILM THAT GOT HIM STARTED IN 1969 WAS BASED ON HIS
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL, "THE LEARNING TREE." GORDON
PARKS NOT ONLY DIRECTED, BUT ALSO WROTE THE SCREENPLAY,
*SERVED AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, AND COMPOSED THE SCORE:
"THE LEARNING TREE" IS THE STORY OF A 15-YEAR-OLD
AFRICAN AMERICAN BOY NAMED NEWT, GROWING UP IN KANSAS IN
THE 1920S. NEWT IS INTELLIGENT AND AMBITIOUS, DESPITE
THE FACT THAT HIS WHITE TEACHER TELLS HIM HIS FUTURE IS
LIMITED BECAUSE OF HIS RACE:
TEACHER: "I WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR RECORDS YESTERDAY,
AND I WAS AMAZED THAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR A COLLEGE
PREPARATORY COURSE."
NEWT: "THAT'S RIGHT, I PLAN ON GOING TO COLLEGE."
TEACHER: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
NEWT: "YES."
TEACHER: "WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. VERY FEW
NEGRO STUDENTS GO TO COLLEGE. THEY JUST AREN'T COLLEGE
MATERIAL, AND THE FEW WHO DO GO WIND UP AS COOKS AND
PORTERS IN ANY CASE. I JUST THINK THAT'S AN AWFUL WASTE
OF MONEY AND TIME."
THE MEMORY OF THE REAL-LIFE INCIDENT THAT SCENE IS BASED
ON REMAINS VIVID FOR GORDON PARKS SEVENTY YEARS AFTER IT
OCCURRED. HE SAYS IT MOTIVATED HIM TO PROVE HIS TEACHER
WRONG, AND HE HAS. EVEN THOUGH HE NEVER WENT TO
COLLEGE, HE CREATED AN IMPRESSIVE BODY OF WORK, MUCH OF
WHICH IS ON EXHIBIT AT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART IN
THE EXHIBIT "HALF PAST AUTUMN: THE ART OF GORDON PARKS."
SINCE THE EXHIBIT OPENED IN SEPTEMBER, THERE HAS BEEN A
SCREENING OF HIS FILMS, INCLUDING THE 1971 HIT "SHAFT."
AND THE NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMED A SPECIAL
CONCERT FEATURING EXCERPTS FROM A BALLET, A PIANO
CONCERTO AND A PIANO SONATA BY GORDON PARKS. BUT
BECAUSE HE IS BEST KNOWN AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE
CORCORAN GALLERY IS A VISUAL ART MUSEUM, THE MAIN FOCUS
OF THE EXHIBIT IS HIS PHOTOGRAPHS:
"I KNOW NOW THAT PHOTOGRAPHY ENABLED ME TO TO DO ALL OF
THOSE OTHER THINGS. I'M VERY THANKFUL TO PHOTOGRAPHY.
I HAVE OFTEN SAID, I TRIED TO USE IT AS A WEAPON AGAINST
POVERTY, AGAINST RACISM AGAINST BIGOTRY, AGAINST
ANYTHING THAT I DISLIKED IN THIS UNIVERSE."
THE FIRST TIME GORDON PARKS USED HIS CAMERA AS A WEAPON
AGAINST POVERTY AND RACISM WAS IN 1942. HE HAD JUST
ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON TO WORK AS A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE
GOVERNMENT, HIRED TO DOCUMENT POVERTY IN AMERICA. HE
WAS SURPRISED AT THE RACISM HE ENCOUNTERED IN THE
NATIONAL CAPITOL. HIS BOSS ADVISED HIM TO TALK WITH
SOME OF THE OLDER BLACK RESIDENTS OF THE CITY. THE
RESULT, GORDON PARKS SAYS, WAS A PORTRAIT OF CLEANING
WOMAN ELLA WATSON. HE CALLED THE WORK AMERICAN GOTHIC:
"ELLA WATSON WAS THE ONLY LEFT IN THE OFFICE THAT DAY.
I TALKED TO ELLA WATSON FOR A WHILE, AND SHE TOLD ME
ABOUT HER LIFE, WHICH WAS ONE OF DRUDGERY. AND SHE HAD
HER MOP AND BROOM, AND I STOPPED HER AND SAID, 'CAN I
PHOTOGRAPH YOU?' AND SHE SAID, 'YES, I DON'T MIND.
WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO STAND?' I LOOKED UP AND SAW THE
AMERICAN FLAG HANGING FROM THE CEILING. I THOUGHT OF
GRANT WOOD AND THE PICTURE HE MADE OF THE FARMER AND THE
LADY WITH THE PITCHFORK. IT ALL HIT, AND I SAID, 'RIGHT
IN FRONT OF THAT FLAG.'"
AFTER WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT, PARKS GOT A JOB WITH
"LIFE" MAGAZINE. HE WORKED THERE FOR 20 YEARS,
PHOTOGRAPHING EVERYONE FROM FASHION MODELS, ROYALTY AND
MOVIE STARS LIKE BARBARA STREISAND AND INGRID BERGMAN TO
GANG MEMBERS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY. HE
SAYS IT IS DIFFICULT TO THINK OF THESE IMAGES AS ART,
EVEN THOUGH THEY NOW HANG ON GALLERY WALLS:
"YOU'LL SEE PEOPLE WITH THEIR HEADS CUT OPEN. YOU'LL
SEE PICTURES OF PEOPLE STARVING TO DEATH. YOU'LL SEE
BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. IT'S A WHOLE SLICE OF LIFE THAT I'VE
LIVED THROUGH. YOU CAN CALL IT ART OR YOU CAN CALL IT
LIVING. POSSIBLY THE WORD FOR IT IS LIVING ART."
YOU MIGHT THINK AT 85 YEARS OLD, GORDON PARKS HAS
RETIRED FROM CREATING LIVING ART. BUT HE'S STILL TAKING
PICTURES, AS WELL AS WRITING POETRY AND COMPOSING MUSIC.
25-Nov-97