Art during 1960s

            Gordon Parks is an American artist.   He was a photographer, a writer, a musician, a poet, a journalist, a composer, an activist and lastly a film director.   Parks was born and raised in Fort Scott, Kansas on November 30, 1912. He got married and divorced three times. He had four children, David, Leslie, Toni and Gordon Jr. During 1979, he lost his son Gordon Jr. due to a plane crash. This incident was devastating for Gordon.   Parks career was a success for him; he started from photography to writing music, to writing novels, to directing film.

            Parks is an African American artist, who looks old, loves to smoke. During his mid-aged life he had help a boy who was living in a very bad neighborhood. He raised him and his family, gave them money to buy or build their own house.   Parks started to do photography when he saw the pictures of migrant workers in a magazine. He started taking pictures of landscapes and people from the south side ghetto, people that are living in a really bad environment. His first time taking pictures wasn't successful; he double exposed every frame of his film except one. That one picture caught the attention of Marva Louis, wife of Joe Louis, a heavyweight boxer. Parks had been from job to job and he began developing a freelance portfolio and he became a fashion photographer over the next years of his photography career.

            Parks took a picture of a black woman named Ella Watson, works in the FSA (Farm Security Administration) building as a cleaning crew. The woman in the picture is holding a broom and a mop in front of the American Flag and this piece was named "American Gothic". Parks inspiration about this photo is his experience of racism in shops and restaurants when he first came to America. People interpret this piece, as African Americans are being mistreated. This photo is one of my favorites because it is really a masterpiece. It is eye catching, it's straightforward, and is very interesting.

            Gordon Parks' style of photography is very interesting, each piece he had done has its own and very deep meaning.   In his photos, he shows how American's way of living during 1960s. He shows how African Americans or colored people are treated; he also shows how people live in a bad environment or neighborhood. He also shows the beauty of fashion.   Parks is a very outstanding and talented artist. He uses his talent to show his point of view of America.