Field trip explores the visionary work of a legendary African American artist
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gordon Parks High School students had the opportunity to bring history to life by peering through the lens of their school's namesake, St. Paul's own Gordon Parks. The school's mission is to honor Parks' legacy by providing pathways to graduation and opportunities for lifelong success.
Nationally renowned artist Gordon Parks is an activist and artist who was born in Kansas and moved to St. Paul to live with a family member. He became homeless while in high school. Despite being born into segregation and facing many challenges, Parks developed a passion for photography.
Inside the Minneapolis Institute of Art, his black and white photographs hang on brightly-colored walls. The intimate series of photos takes us inside Ella Watson's daily life as a custodian and family woman in the 1940s.
In one corner of the exhibit, a young man wearing a blue jacket with a black hair pick in his hair was looking intently at Parks' work.
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WCCO's Ubah Ali asked him what the photos meant to him.
"A photograph is worth more than a thousand words, especially his," said Kevin Pollard.
Pollard was referring to Parks' collective portraits of Watson titled 'American Gothic'.
"His photo American Gothic captures a deep sadness," Pollard said.
The iconic photo of Watson standing in front of an American flag holding a mop and broom, stood out to Pollard. He said those were her choices of weapons back then, her way of surviving in 1940s America.
"I think that's what his photography encompasses- the American experience through the eyes of a Black man," said Pollard. "I feel like I'm at home with Ella Watson, I feel like I'm in her living room, I'm in her church."
That feeling is made possible eight decades later, through the photos Gordon Parks captured.
Robin Hickman-Winfield is Gordon Parks' great niece and teacher at Gordon Parks High School. She watched as her students took in her uncle's work.
As she walked through the exhibit, she made sure to remind them that the photos were made possible because Parks honored his subjects.
"They are understanding why Uncle Gordon took that powerful photograph and they are taking it to the next level," Hickman-Winfield smiled.
The Gordon Parks exhibit is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art until June.
