Happy Birthday Gordon Parks: Picture Perfect

Posted On: November 30, 2011
Posted By: planetillshelby
Comments: 0

By shelz.

Back in 1998, a fledgling and idealistic XXL Magazine re-imagined Art Kane’s iconic photo, “A Great Day in Harlem” for their December issue. That day, Hip-Hop, a genre that thoughtful people draw plenty of jazz connections to, found itself echoing the gritty yet regal beauty brought forth decades prior by Kane’s shot. Who better to capture that moment than Gordon Parks?

I often wondered if the 200 or so rap artists that congregated in front of 17 E. 126th St. for the famous portrait realized who was taking their picture. Were they aware of Parks’ amazing story and how much it echoed the Hip-Hop archetype? He came from nothing and created an amazing catalog of well… everything. There was no one more fitting. I’m sure that’s why the XXL powers that be asked for his assistance. It was perfect.

Parks lived to express. He used medium after medium to scold, cajole, rejoice and educate. From his photo essays, to his motion pictures, prose, poetry and music; Parks spoke through his work, both to us and for us. There is nothing more Hip-Hop than that.

What made him more amazing is he constructed every bit of his legacy with no formal training. Parks didn’t even finish high school. Tons of talent, a bit of luck and sheer will propelled him through the years as a photographer with The Farm Security Administration that served as foundation for his work at Life and Vogue Magazines, two disparate jobs that showcased a spectrum of humanity in ways few other photographers could muster. Between assignments in inner city New York and rural Brazil, Parks shot the pristine ladies of fashion and icons of entertainment. From food lines to furs, he did it all with a keen understanding of emotion and aesthetic. No one did it better.

The baby of a brood of 15, Parks started life as an adult in his teenage years. From homeless and working in a brothel, he went on to become the first African-American to photograph for Life, the first African-American to write and direct a major motion picture and a co-founder of Essence Magazine. His lens captured everyone from Malcolm X to Elvis Presley and he’s been credited with creating the first blaxploitation film with a well-rounded and respectable black male protagonist. Not bad for a son of impoverished Midwest farmers. Not bad at all.

Gordon Parks’ greatest gift though, was that of the dream. Ambition at work in the face of tremendous odds. Believing in the struggle even when you are the only one. Parks made it okay to deny borders and create destiny. He also made it okay to speak your mind when no one agreed and to use art for the greater good.

Gordon Parks was the perfect man to capture a generation of artists who overcame obstacles by telling stories that were perhaps beyond the scope of general appropriateness, artists who had come to replace the once mighty jazz legends whose stories were unusually similar. And in drawing that connection with the help of his lens and the hungry minds of a starter Hip-Hop publication he brought black artistry full circle. No one could have done that better. No one.

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