To celebrate Black History Month, today you will be writing about this image made by artist and photojournalist Gordon Parks. This image is from a series Parks completed for Life Magazine. Life sent Parks to Alabama in 1956 to document 3 black families during one of the most turbulent times in American history. The project was meant to show how ordinary black families truly lived in the Deep South during 1956, and the images would serve to counter the misinformation spread that a racially segregated society was good for everyone. From the Gordon Parks Foundation: "Gordon Parks was one of the seminal figures of twentieth century photography. A humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice, he left behind a body of work that documents many of the most important aspects of American culture from the early 1940s up until his death in 2006, with a focus on race relations, poverty, civil rights, and urban life. In addition, Parks was also a celebrated composer, author, and filmmaker who interacted with many of the most prominent people of his era - from politicians and artists to celebrities and athletes." Complete in class. FIVE paragraphs minimum; five sentences per paragraph.
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Raven
2/28/2017 07:01:18 am
This image made by Gordon Parks, is an image of a black lady and her daughter are looking at the children’s clothes on the manikins in a store window. The colors being used are washed out blues and reds, with some tan. The lighting is sunlight.
Zachary Perkins
2/28/2017 07:03:56 am
In this photo there are sculptures of people in a case with a child looking at them with her mother behind her. The sculptures are white people and the child and the mother are black. The light in this photo is bright and is taken in daylight. Being the child and the mother, there are other adult sculptures. The child looks very interested in the sculptures, and looks like she wants to be like them.
Alexis Parsons
2/28/2017 07:04:17 am
In this photo there is a child with her mom looking at life size dolls. The mom and her daughter are positioned between two dolls so that your eyes focus on them. the background is light allowing the family to stand out. the mom has her arm around her chid. the mom is looking down at her child.
Will Oliver
2/28/2017 07:09:58 am
This photograph made by Gordon Parks is of an African American woman and her daughter looking into the glass window at mannequin. This picture seems to be quite norman and nothing out of the ordinary is happening. The mannequins are wearing children clothes and are all white. You can see the young girl pointing at them and looking in awe. This picture looks very ordinary as though it could happen today.
Simon Bruhn
2/28/2017 07:10:10 am
The image by Gordon Parks is of a an African American woman, possibly a grandmother, and a young child. They are looking at plaster dolls that are displaying clothes, and all of the dolls are the poster child for what people believed a white child should be like. The colors of the image are essentially the colors of the clothes that people would wear in the 50’s. The image is taken with the ambient light in the mall. The image also has a reflection of the people moving behind them, creating a feeling of actually having space on all sides of you. 2/28/2017 07:11:09 am
1956 the years following ww2 and still segregation had a large influence on society. segregation was however improving yet was still there especially in the deep south. the truth behind the treatment of black people has been obscured by the prejudices of the time. this photo allows the viewer to get an idea of what it was like to see the treatment of black people.
Olivia iskander
2/28/2017 07:13:42 am
This image is of a black family in a museum staring at statues/wax figures of white people. The colors this image is using is mostly the black snd white in the families, not that the others don’t matter but they’re not as important to this peace. The lighting is bright sunlight coming from the windows in the corner of the picture. The objects include in this image is a mom and a little girl and some wax figures. In this particular picture the little girl looks curiously through the glass while her mom holds her back.
Caden Fincke
2/28/2017 07:15:19 am
The image is of a older black woman and either her daughter or possibly granddaughter looking at clothes at a apparel store. The daughter seems lost in a trance as she stares at the all white mannequins and the mother holds her close to her side with one hand. The mother is wearing a light green almost grey skirt with a blouse, and the young girl is wearing a pink dress. The girl is looking at mannequins in different clothing through a glass case. 2/28/2017 07:18:19 am
This image is of a African American woman and her daughter looking into a case with all white people wearing nice cloths and dressed nicely. The african american child is wearing a skirt like one of them in the case which shows some similarity. This image is created by Gordon Parks and shows a bunch of white people that are models that are in glass and the African American woman is showing her daughter this. The colors are good and the light has bright sunlight outside the store or building. Doesn't seem like it is studio set up. The models seem well made and there is small girls in models and grown woman. 2/28/2017 06:04:37 pm
This image revolves around a storefront window. Mannequins of white children stand on display in the window. Behind the mannequins stand a black mother and daughter, looking at the mannequins. The image shows the divide between the races persisting through the 1940’s and even into the modern era. More specifically, the divide existing in people’s everyday lives shines through, as the non-studio lit image shows (the normal lighting from the sun contributes to this effect. Additionally, the colors of the image are faded, giving the image a dated vibe; nonetheless, this does not dilute the message of the image.
Kyle Meister
2/28/2017 09:22:38 pm
The image is of a black women with either her daughter or granddaughter observing clothing. They are looking at all white mannequins in clothing. Both of them are wearing clothing that is different and less of value then the mannequins. The expression on the girls face explain a lot. To me her expressions is saying those are some nice clothes, i want some. 3/1/2017 04:16:06 pm
This image is of a mother and daughter in a clothing store surrounded by white mannequins. The heavy contrast between black and white is literal and figurative. Its brightly lit like a studio and its just two people. The little girl is staring at all of the mannequins while the mother is looking down.
Preslee Vanlandingham
3/1/2017 04:20:26 pm
Also, the protective hand the mother has around her is a gesture of trying to save her from the pain of a segregated society and the extreme inequality. Comments are closed.
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