Gordon Parks "I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapons against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty. I could have just as easily picked up a knife or gun, like many of my childhood friends did…" At today's meeting Steve Lewis led the discussion of Gordon Parks his photographic work and cultural impact. Needless to say Parks impact extended to photography, composing, cameraman and director, novelist and poet. But more importantly were his groundbreaking personal inroads to many creative endeavors in the film industry not previously open to people of color. The following quote is from Steve: "Occasionally, someone Is born whose destiny it is to transcend limitations ascribed by society. Passions can be discovered at any point in life, but when they are cultivated at a young age, there is a certain freedom, born of innocence, that affords reckless creativity. Transcendent people can transform limitations into opportunities because the purity of their spirit serves as a passport into worlds that others of like kind enjoy no invitation. Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson, Oprah, Gordon Parks – all rare individuals whose mastery of their craft impresses “the masses” so much as to render them colorless." (Steve Lewis) Gordon Parks had too many successes to chronicle in this short blog. But what we concentrated on this morning were the factors that drove Gordon to these accomplishments. What was the one thing...or what set of circumstances propelled him in his creative life. There was a great discussion about what these were in his case. Among other things we discussed are the pictures above...documentary and conceptual pictures with semiotics that give us clues both to the cultural climate of the times as well as his conscious or unconscious visual aesthetics...the semiotics of separation, exclusion and the segregation prevalent in his world. Lastly we viewed about 10 minutes of Parks' autobiographical film "Gordon Parks: Half Past Autumn"...the movie is about 90 minutes long and we all wanted to see the whole thing but not possible as our own 90 minutes rapidly came to an end. Pity! Below is the link to the movie.... https://vimeo.com/46395849 Thank you Steve for both leading the discussion and sharing your own comments through the personal "cultural lens" of your life and career. To finish our day at Jones... Jim Staub brought a print of the picture above filled with the semiotics of law enforcement then and now..."keep right" and the "red light"...you can do the mental gymnastics of the scene. Most of all it depicts, in my interpretation, the peacefulness of the arrest scene in that era compared to the chaos of any arrest in LA today..."on the ground" with 4 other policemen surrounding you...you "get the picture"!
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