EYE CANDY
After Gordon Parks: Mickalene Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems and More Celebrate 50 Years of Black Photographers
Fifty years ago, the photographer Gordon Parks took to the streets of Harlem with his camera — and at times, Ralph Ellison — and changed the game for black photographers. He left a legacy that paved the way for Mickalene Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, and LaToya Ruby Frazier today, all of whose photographs show up alongside his in “Fifty Years After,” an homage to both Parks and the Civil Rights Movement at James Barron Art in Kent, Connecticut until October. It’s a striking portrait of being black in America over the last half-century.
1
Gordon Parks, “At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama,” 1956.
2
Mickalene Thomas, “Madame Mama Bush,” 2012.
3
Gordon Parks, “American Gothic, Washington, D.C.,” 1942.
4
Carrie Mae Weems, “Untitled (Eating lobster)” from the Kitchen Table Series, 2003.
5
Gordon Parks, “Airline Terminal, Atlanta, Georgia,” 1956.
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Gordon Parks, “Invisible Man Retreat, Harlem, New York,” 1952.
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Carrie Mae Weems, “Lewitt’s Wall,” 2006 – present.
8
LaToya Ruby Frazier, “Campaign for Braddock Hospital (Save Our Community Hospital)” series, 2011.
9
Gordon Parks, “Malcolm X at Rally, Chicago, Illinois,” 1963.
10
Carrie Mae Weems, “Untitled (Woman and phone)” from the Kitchen Table Series, 2003.
11
Gordon Parks, “The Invisible Man, Harlem, New York,” 1952.
12
Mickalene Thomas, “Remember Me,” 2006.
13
Gordon Parks, “Untitled, Harlem, New York,” 1963.
14
Gordon Parks, “Untitled, Miami, Florida,” 1966.
15
LaToya Ruby Frazier, “Grandma Ruby and UPMC” from the Campaign for Braddock Hospital (Save Our Community Hospital) series, 2011.
16
Carrie Mae Weems, “Untitled (Woman and daughter with makeup)” from the Kitchen Table Series, 2003.
17
LaToya Ruby Frazier, “Jenny Holzer’s Truism” from the Campaign for Braddock Hospital (Save Our Community Hospital) series, 2011.
