Enduring Avatar of Style
Gordon Parks was a seminal figure of twentieth century photography. Below is my video depicting the genius of his creative and visual story telling skills as well his humanitarian nature. Check back in about two weeks or so as I plan to present a related photography essay!
References
Busche, L. (n.d.). Simplicity, symmetry and more: Gestalt theory and the design principles it gave birth to. canva.com. https://www.canva.com/learn/gestalt-theory/
Evolution of storytelling. (n.d.). https://visual.ly/community/Infographics/history/evolution-storytelling
Garcia, M. (2017, January 19). Digital storytelling, Part one: The fusion of writing/editing/design. https://garciamedia.com/blog/digital_storytelling_part_one_the_fusion_of_writing_editing_design/
Lien, J. (2020, December 8). Worth 1,000 words: The 4 principles of visual storytelling. amplifi. https://amplifinp.com/blog/4-principles-visual-storytelling/.
5 thoughts on “Gordon Parks – Celebrated Photographer, Filmmaker, & Visual Storyteller”
Hi Kevin,
I really enjoyed your presentation about Gordon Parks. He is a photographer I did not know about previously and I enjoyed seeing his work. You had a nice narrating voice, it felt like you were casually telling a story rather than reading from a script. I can tell from the way you describe Parks and his photos that you have great admiration for the man. The presentation was longer than 5 minutes but it kept me interested the whole time. You do an excellent job showing examples and explaining how Gestalt principles apply to the photographs.
Parks seems to have such an eclectic body of work, from models to magazine covers, film, portraits, parody, and poverty. I feel that many photographers tend to stick with a box that they are comfortable in, and Parks transcends any sort of artistic box. I especially appreciate learning about such a skilled Black American photographer whom I hadn’t heard of before. Based on the volume of work that Parks has, you will definitely have enough information to write your final paper. The question is if you want to continue analyzing his photos with Gestalt principles alone or if you want to analyze them from other angles as well.
Great presentation!
Hello Kevin,
What I enjoyed most about your presentation is that you focused on a particular visual storyteller as opposed to a theory or principle. This truly humanizes this project and reminds us that there are people behind these visual stories who could be doing and risking much more than we know to achieve an effective story. Gordon Parks truly was a bad ass as you so eloquently put it. You keep it real.
You then apply the principles of design to his work to showcase how he applied proper techniques to achieve all that he did. I was very immersed in your story, however after a while I wondered how you were able to provide so much information and realized that your presentation was well over five minutes. While I thought your topic and Parks are incredible the goal of the presentation was to be a bit more succinct. This may be something to consider when you write your long form final. Consider brevity as a friend to guide you through your story as to not lose your audience.
Overall I think you have a wonderful topic here and can continue to focus on the evolution of Parks as storyteller, an activist and an artist all while applying what we learned to his work and your eye.
Kevin—
I feel like I learned so much from your presentation! I like the conversational way you presented your topic, it felt more like a discussion than a bunch of information being thrown at me. You’re obviously very knowledgeable of Mr. Parks’ work and have a vast assortment of shots to work with. I like your juxtaposition of glamour shots with candid portraits, they were so radically different but still held the same signature style and energy. I love the fact you shared about Parks spending days with his subjects to get to know them, that kind of information really gives these portraits dimension. I also really love the portrait of Lt. Uhura, I’m a big Nichelle Nichols fan.
I think a photo essay is a great way to delve into Park’s body of work. My suggestion for your essay would be to narrow down your focus to shots like the one you juxtaposed with the American Gothic. You obviously have an introduction to Mr. Parks and his life and work, but I think you can really get a lot out of focusing on a few portraits that have a common theme and relating them back to gestalt theory. I’m interested to hear your in-depth breakdowns of his portraits.
Can’t wait to read your finished paper!
Hi Kevin,
I enjoyed your ignite presentation on Gordon Parks. I knew of Gordon Parks because he directed the first Shaft but never knew about his photography work. I’m excited to look more into his photography after watching your presentation!
Your presentation was well done in guiding us through Parks’ work and the visual storytelling elements used. Through your narration, it’s clear you have a deep admiration of the man and his work. There is a casualness that allows the audience to connect to the presentation versus feeling like a lecture. The visuals help support the narration and are very impactful. Not only does it present Parks and his excellence in photography, but it highlights his style and coolness.
My only comment in terms of the presentation is that it does not fit the guidelines for an Ignite. The slides vary in length, and the presentation on a whole is over the five-minute mark. While I enjoyed the presentation as a whole, it could be a lot more impactful if it was cut down and could hit those main points stronger.
Overall, I’m excited to read your essay on Parks and the visual storytelling in his photography.
Hi, Kevin!
Really interesting presentation. I’m not going to lie… when I saw that it was more than 10 minutes I groaned, but when I checked the time and realized I was already 8 minutes in before I had even noticed… I need to give you major congrats on a wonderfully told story!
You really did a great job infusing a lot of your own thoughts and personality into the program. I think my biggest suggestion for the presentation would be to give each photo its own slide. There were a few (I’m thinking specifically of the family split against the gang leader) where I had trouble deciding where to look. I wish I could have focused on just one photo at a time so that I could really take in the subjects.
All-in-all I think you did a great job trying Mr. Park’s photography back to the gestalt principles and color theory and the story that each photo tells.
For your essay, one possible route to take could be how Parks used his photos over the course of his career/lifetime to tell a story and what that story is and what it means to you. It seems that he had a varied career from fashion to portraits of famous people to portraits of everyday people. It is the photos of the everyday people that were the most compelling to me, and I would love to explore that work more deeply.
Comments are closed.